Secret Music
by kalyn19
Summary: Zuko is in hiding, not like he wanted to be, from the media. But, how come Katara has to be the one who hides him? She's the one who hates him the most! Imagine complicating you already devastating teenage life with the pressures of stardom! AU
1. Chapter 1

Hello guys! This is an edited author's note... just for an update. I also edited and beta-ed the earlier chapters of the story. No major changes, just spelling, grammar checks and such. :)

This story is developing in new sorts of ways, and I am eternally grateful for thos of you who stuck to this stories through thick and thin... even when i disappear for a month or so. I want all of you guys to know how special each and everyone of you are...

So for new readers, i hope you like this story and please stick around... many surprises are in store. [i didn't blow my cover did i?] Though this may look like an ordinary chapter, twists will be added at every turn... :)

Anyway, on with the story! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

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**Secret Music**

**Chapter 1**

Katara was lying down on her bed when her phone rang. She picked up her phone and answered it. "Hello?"

A familiar voice answered her. It was her best friend Suki. "Hey Katara! You up for the mall tomorrow?"

"Oh su-" Katara covered her mouth and replied sadly, "I totally forgot! Sokka's Haiku Recital is tomorrow… I cant…"

A few moments of silence later...

Suki burst out laughing. "Sokka? Haiku Recital? HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN GONE!?" She dissolved in a fit of laughter.

(a/n:) Suki went to Kyoshi camp, that's a topic for another chapter

Katara understood exactly why she was laughing. This was Sokka, her brother, they were talking about. Her "guitarist of a famous band, 'BoOmeraang'" brother who was well known all over the world.

And, the more popular as her brother gets, the more fan-girls he gets… except for Suki, she liked him as him, her goofy childhood friend who she had a crush on for ever. Katara snapped her fingers and grinned. "I have a great idea! Why don't you go with me to the recital and then the mall?"

Suki smiled and blushed at the idea. "Fine with me."

Katara was positive in Suki's voice that she was happy. She's good at playing cupid!

Just then, Katara received another call…

_Miss independent_

_Miss self sufficient_

_Miss keep your distance…_

"Hold on." She answered the other line. "Hello?"

She moved the phone farther from her ear, scared it would be damaged. After she regained her sense of hearing, a childish voice reached her ear. It was Toph, her friend next door. "DO YOU MIND! TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!"

Katara giggled. "Oh, sorry Toph. Hang on." She got back to Suki.

"What's up?"

"We gotta go. Ms. Crankypants woke up."

The window from the neighbor's house slammed open. A 14 year old girl's head popped out of it and screamed… "I HEARD THAT!"

Just then, Aang tapped Toph's shoulder.

"Toph, go back to sleep!"

Toph turned back and had an angry look on her face. "STAY OUT OF THIS TWINKLE TOES!"

Aang turned back and mumbled while he walked out the door.

[(a/n:) Toph and Aang live in the same apartment, conveniently located next to Katara, who lives alone after her only brother left for Hollywood.]

Toph turned back at the giggling Katara next door. "Are you gonna shut up or what?!"

Katara and Suki's eyes widened. Suki wasn't there, but she heard the shout louder than you think. They answered back at each other in a rush "Okay! Goodnight! BYE-BYE!"

Then they closed their phones and went to sleep.

**The next day…**

They were at the recital, finally. Traffic was killer. Good thing Sokka sent them a limo… big brothers have advantages! Katara waved her hands high in the crowd. "Sokka!" She tried to get her 18 year old brother's attention.

Sokka was talking with some of his 'colleagues' who don't know he was bored out of his wits. Just then, like a ray of light from heaven, he saw and heard his sister's voice. He smiled and went to them with opened arms. "Katara! Suki! You made it!" Then he reached for them and hugged the nearest person. Thinking it was his sister, he squeezed tighter.

"I'm so glad to see you again! Do you KNOW how boring those men were?"

Katara tapped her brother on the shoulder. "Um, Sokka…" She waited for him to look at her. "That's… Suki"

A few seconds passed by, Sokka was just staring at his sister, then blinked. He immediately dropped his hold on Suki. He had a deep red blush on his face. He managed to pull a cheesy smile.

Suki smiled back at him. "Hey Sokka!"

Sokka acted like his old goofy self in sight of Suki. "Hi-I Suki…" he said in a daze.

Suddenly, the host announced his name.

Katara patted her brother on the shoulder "You're up, big bro."

The audience clapped their hands elegantly.

Sokka walked to the stage as the spotlight shone upon him. He cleared his throat and started to speak.

_Oh, beautiful moon_

_shine upon us with your light_

_and fight pain away._

The audience smiled and clapped harder. Giggles of girls rose from the crowd. Suki looked at them and they all shrunk to oblivion.

Katara twitched. She mumbled to herself "She reminds me of Yue…"

Suki clapped along with a smile on her face, proud of her so called boy-friend. She said to Katara "Who knew Sokka had a sensitive side!"

Katara gave a silly smile back at her and looked at her watch. "We have 5 hours till the mall closes."

Suki's eyes widened and jumped. She grabbed Katara's hand and ran, but not without blowing Sokka a goodbye kiss. "Let's go."

Sokka fell off the stage…

The audience gasped, and pointed at him. "He… fell"

Sokka seemed to raise his head and squeak...

_How clumsy of you_

_oh goof who fell from the stage_

_in need of first aid…_

All the girls in the audience giggled and headed to Sokka with first aid kits cradled in their arms.

**Back with Katara and Suki**

Katara and Suki were walking to the mall when they passed by Song and Jin in front of an electronics store. They gazed at the TV. They soon knew the reason why they were there…

Zuko, the rising teen singer/actor, sang "Thanks for the Memories", a single on his new album.

[FOB fans please don't kill me]

Suki pointed at the screen. "Hey, look! It's Zuko."

Katara looked at the screen with piercing eyes. "What's so great about him?"

Suki gave her a 'what-ever' face. Everybody knew Katara hated guys like him.

_I'm gonna make it bend and break… (it sent you to me without wings)  
_

_Say your prayers but let the good times roll_

_In case God doesn't show… (let the good times roll)_

Song suddenly spoke in a dazed voice. "His looks… those oh so sexy looks…"

_And I want these words to make things right_

_But it's the wrongs that make the words come to life_

Jin was next to speak in the same tone. "His voice… that oh so provoking voice…"

Katara twitched. "EIW! I think I'm gonna be sick! I don't know why you guys would ever consider such a… such a…"

Jin and Song glared at her… Suki got scared out of her wits… Nothing like a pair of (rabid) angry fangirls…

Suki grabbed Katara's wrist and sped off. "And I think we're gonna be late… RUNN!!!!"

Jin raised her voice. "Yeah you better!"

**In the mall… in the dressing room…**

Suki suddenly spoke. "You like him, don't you?"

Katara choked and dropped on the floor with the sudden question. "WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

Suki answered back in a teasing tone, "Admit it! I mean who wouldn't like a hot singer who is gorgeous in every way?"

Katara pretended to puke. Why is it that her best friend has to poke fun at her? "Gross! I bet he's just a SELFISH STUCK UP SNOB!"

Suki answered back again, this time in an irritated tone. "And I suppose Jet isn't? I mean, why do you like Jet, that jerk!"

Now the conversation turned. Zuko, she mind thrashing, Jet, her crush since pre-k, not so much. Katara put her hands on her hips. "Nuh-AH! Hey, Ms. Suki, since you defend that… that…"

"Hot rising singer" Suki cut in in a bored i-heard-it-already tone…

"Thanks…" she rolled her eyes, then continued with her tease. "so much, I bet you like him, don't you?"

Suki's voice softened. Never ever did she once think of changing her crush… "I would… but I have someone else in mind…"

Katara giggled. Gotcha! "Anything you say, sis-in-law!"

Suki fell hard. "Hey!"

Katara walked out the changing room, after picking her clothes. "I bet my MOMO© designer handbag that he's a stuck up snob!"

Suki exited as well. "And I bet my APPA© designer boots he's great once you get to know him deeper."

Katara laughed sarcastically then said "How deep, BLACK HOLE DEEP!?"

The cashier (in a blue uniform with blue eyes and blue shoes) spoke "That'll be 444 gold pieces."

Katara didn't look at him while she handed him a credit card. "Do you take Bosco© Credit?"

The cashier took the card from her hand and swiped it on the credit card thingie…

Suki and Katara look into each other eyes determined to win the designer including bet…

**Later that night**

Katara went home and lied down on the couch. She was too tired to move… Shopping took most of her energy every time. She lazily reached for the remote and opened the TV.

Suddenly, the doorknob of the front door was shaking like crazy.

Katara lazed her eyes and raised her voice. "I _have_ a doorbell, you know!"

The doorknob still shook wildly…

She sighed in exasperation. Katara walked up to the door and opened it. Suddenly, someone jumped up behind her and covered her mouth.

"Hey!" she muffled.

The second stranger spoke. "The coast is clear!" then he shut the lights.

_WHAT THE HELL?_

The one holding her spoke, in a tone of relief. "Oh thank goodness!"

Katara's heart sped. _Please Agni, don't let these be some massive murderers… please!_ She madly mumbled "WHOAREYOU!? WHATAREYOUDOINGHERE!? AREYOUKILLERS? MURDERERS?"

No one spoke… just pants and sighs of relief… Katara twitched. She wanted answers, and she isn't the likely type to sit and wait while her 'maybe' very end was near. She bit the person's hand.

"OUCH!" he said letting go.

Katara stood up. "Who are you!? What are you doing here?" she repeated herself, only in a slightly calming way.

The first voice she heard spoke. "Shut up, peasant!" he spat, then he opened the lights.

Katara, recognizing the voice, gasped and her jaw dropped. "You- - you're…"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Back after the Break - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**F.Y.I:**

**Katara: **16 year old girl who hates this guy Zuko, well, every star on earth except her brother.

Lives alone in an apartment

**Suki:** 17 year old girl who likes Sokka.

Goes to camp every 2 weeks for training.

**Sokka: **18 year old guy who is famous for his band, 'boOmerang' and his haikus in the literature world

Lives alone in Hollywood.

**Toph:** 14 year old girl who is tough.

Lives in an apartment with Aang next to Katara's apartment.

**Aang:** 14 year old boy who is funny and light on his feet.

Is room mates with Toph, who doesn't bother him much… except for the daily beatings and shoutings and blah.. blah… blah…

**Zuko: **18 year old guy who is a famous singer/actor.

Lives with his uncle in a BIG apartment

Chased by the media for a secret thing… [which I won't tell you if you don't review!

- - - - - - - - - end commercial- - - - - - - -

Katara stiffened and exclaimed "You're- Zu- Zuko!!!"

_Oh thanks Agni, on second thought, murderers would be better…_

Zuko signaled a shhh by putting a finger on his lips. "Shush it up, will ya, peasant!"

Katara pointed accusingly at him, angry raising her brow. Yup, she knew it, she knew it! "PEASANT? What is wrong with you!? Vocabulary not to wide?" she said putting her hands on her hips.

Zuko twitched, looking at her pose. For some reason, he found it… attractive. He blushed and looked away. "Watch it!"

Katara took the phone from her pants and dialed Suki's number. Zuko's eyes widened.

"What are you doing?"

Katara looked back at him, irritated. "Oh, calling Suki! I just won APPA© designer boots!"

Zuko knocked the phone out of her hands.

"Hey!"_ My phone! My precious phone…_

Just then, the second voice reached her ear. He walked out of the kitchen and spoke. "We would appreciate it if you kept this a secret from the public." He was holding a tea cup in his hands, steam coming out. He made himself tea.

Katara turned back at him and snorted. "And who might you be?"

He bowed down as a sign of respect. Katara immediately bowed her head in embarrassment for doing that to a gentleman.

"I'm Iroh. I'm Mr. Zuko's manager."

Zuko interrupted "Stop calling me that, uncle!"

Katara exchanged looks at both of them. "Uncle?" _Okay, Agni, stop it…_

Zuko mumbled to himself, "dumb peasant."

Katara's skin crawled. _On second thought, lt me keep him, I'll send him to the spirit world in no time! My treat!_ "Darn you! You didn't have to slap my phone, ya jerk!"

Zuko shouted back at the hot-headed girl. "And you don't have to shout at my face, ya peasant!"

Katara was about to bend water and freeze him to a wall when her phone rang.

Zuko was disappointed by the interruption and shouted "What now?!"

Katara went to her phone and answered it , but not before glaring at the guy she least liked. "Hello?"

It was Toph again. _Damn Agni! WHY?_

The girl cleared her throat. "AHEM!?"

Katara jumped. "Oh sorry…" She covered the speaker and exchanged glares with Zuko, then spoke to Iroh. "We need to keep it down. Toph is already awake."

Zuko interrupted once more, making Katara more and more irritated. "Who?"

Toph spoke from the phone. "Who's there?"

Katara jumped again. She was shivering. "Oh… um… no one… just…" she stammered.

Toph giggled and spoke "Hold on, Sugarqueen, before you blab, I know you're lying!"

Katara responded baffled "How can you- - You're next door!"

The door banged open.

A pale 14 year old stood there holding a phone up her ear. "Actually, I'm outside!"

Iroh climbed out of the window. He whispered to Katara. "I'll call you about it later!"

Katara looked at him with her brows furrowed. She signaled stop with her hand. "Wait, I…"

Toph interrupted her and felt heavy breathing from another person. "Hey sweetness, who's that?"

Katara looked back at her and raised her shoulders. Something she does when she's nervous. "He's um… he's…"

Zuko interrupted and spoke in a deep voice. "I'm Li."

Toph shot her sightless eyes at him, her eyebrow raised. "Who?"

Zuko shouted back "LI!!!" then mumbled to himself.

Toph covered her ears. "Don't shout! I'm blind, not deaf!!!" Jeez, is that so hard? "Blindness and Deafness aren't a package, moron!"

All of a sudden, Aang enters the room…

He spoke hysterically and turned Toph towards him. "TOPH! How could you! Do you know how worried I was? I thought you…" he stopped after seeing their shocked expressions they shot at him. "I'll shut up now…" Then he walked away without looking back, embarrased.

[poor Aangy]

"I better go." Said Toph. She head back out of the door.

Katara and Zuko release a sigh of relief. Coast is clear…

Just then Toph stopped and turned her head.

"And one more thing…" she said grinning.

Katara and Zuko stiffened.

"I can tell you're lying!" she said in a teasing voice.

The door closed, but they still stood shocked.

Katara twitched, but decided it wasn't the right time to have a heart attack right now. "That… was… close!"

Zuko walked to the couch and sat down, obviously thought the same. He clicked the remote and watched TV, pretending not to mind her.

Katara looked at him "Don't you care!?"

Zuko looked at her with bored eyes. Katara stared. She looked into his amber eyes… his gorgeous eyes… She snapped out of it… _Remember who you're dealing with Katara… the devil's here…_

"Should I?" he finally spoke. "Uncle will call after half an hour, so don't worry, peasant…" he grew fond of calling her that, just after a few minutes. Rolls off the tongue quite easily…

Katara put her hands on her hips which made Zuko's eyes widen. "WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!"

Zuko twitched but regained. "YOU'RE IRRITATING!"

Katara put her hands on her waist. "YOU'RE CRAZY BUT YOU DON'T SEE ME SHOUTING IT TO THE WORLD!!" Then the car's alarm turns on simultaneously until the next 2 blocks.

Zuko stood up and looked right at her gorgeous eyes. "YOU JUST DID!!" he spat at her, distracted from her pose.

Katara can't take it anymore. She bended a water whip, surrounded it around Zuko, freezed it and flung him to the closet.

"THE NEXT TIME YOU OPEN YOUR TRAP IT BETTER BE AN APOLOGY!"

Zuko lied there, upside down. He only had one thing in mind.

"GIRLS ARE CRAZY!"

**End Chapter**

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**EXTRAS:**

In Toph and Aang's apartment:

Aang's eyes opened wide in the middle of the night… "Wasn't that Zuko!?"

He woke Toph up. As usual, Toph responded with a WACK which led poor little Aang dangling from a tree. And all he had to say was…

"I wish I took his autograph"

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**Thanks for reading everybody and I hope you review!**

Okay, so this story has been posted many times in the past, but i always need to fix something that endangers the plot... I promise this is the last version!

-kalyn19


	2. Chapter 2

**HEY GUYS!**

**Not much reviews but hey, who's complainin?**

**Disclaimer: sorry no ownie avatar…

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**Chapter 2**

Zuko was woken up by a scream. He opened his eyes and saw that he was sleeping in a closet, upside down. He couldn't feel his arms, mostly because of the frozen ice on it. He melted it with his fire bending, and went outside.

He saw Katara… he tried to remember why…. He snapped his fingers and went closer to the panicking girl.

"Why are you screaming, peasant!?"

Katara ran from room to room, carrying 2 books at a time then stuffing it in her bag. She had no time to stop for him, why should she?

Zuko blocked her way, they bumped into each other and Katara fell out of balance. Zuko caught the books and held her hand to keep her from falling.

He leaned closer. "I asked you a question."

Katara blushed and spoke. "Let go of me, you snob! I don't have time for this!"

Zuko got irritated and let her go, letting her hit the ground, very hard. He placed the books in the bag.

"OUCH! Hey! What are you…" She was startled at what she saw.

Zuko didn't respond. He did exactly what Katara did and finished it. He then walked towards her. She got confused but acted strong. She put her hand on her waist. They glared at each other and he leaned closer, making her blush.

She spoke irritated… "What do you want!?"

Zuko ignored her once more. He spoke irrelevantly "Now you can answer my question, right!?"

Katara lazed her eyes and mumbled to herself "stupid…" Zuko raised his brow. She was confused at him, and scared. "HEY! Don't you know it's Monday!? We have school today!"

Zuko's eyes widened, completing the whole -what- look. "School? What do you need that for?"

Katara laughed mockingly.

"For learning, dodo-ish! What's the matter? Not smart at all?"

She approached her bag and flung it to her side.

Zuko crossed his arms and responded. "I'm smart! Just, street smart!"

Katara laughed again mockingly. She walked away. She looked back at him though… "Yeah, what street? Sesame?"

Zuko twitched. He ran after her and took her bag.

Katara was flung along. "Hey!"

Zuko grabbed her bag and threw it aside. "I'm coming with you!"

"What?!" she said putting her hands on her hips.

Zuko looked away, fearing she might see him blush. "If uncle called you and I'm not there, what will happen, huh?"

Katara's insides boiled as she shouted… "YOU INTOLERABLE FREAK!!!"

Zuko didn't mind her and picked up the bag. Katara bended water and froze Zuko to the floor, causing him to drop the bag.

Zuko looked back. "What now!?"

Katara let him go, irritated. She spoke in a sarcastic tone… as usual. "If you don't want to go out there and be mobbed by a bunch of fangirls and a goth, then I suggest we disguise you!"

Zuko blinked. "Goth?" he said. Katara looked at him and grinned, evil like… He looked away. "Fine." He thought to himself "she's smarter than I thought."

They went inside the house and into the living room.

Katara exited the room. Zuko blinked. She returned with a pair of scissors and a comb.

Zuko's eyes widened. He went ballistic and pointed at her accusingly. "OH NO! DON'T YOU DARE YOU PEASANT!"

Katara pushed her fists downward. She was mad. "You know I'm just one phone call away from getting rid of you! Heck, I can sell you to the media! That's worth a lot more than those boots I won."

Zuko looked at her with his piercing golden eyes. "You don't have the guts."

Katara reached into her pocket and grabbed her cellphone. Zuko twitched.

"Try me."

"Damn that cellphone!"

Katara laughed evil like and pointed to the chair. "SIT!"

Zuko glared at her but did so anyway. She started cutting off the excess hair at the back, then the sides, then a little at the front. Voila! (Ba Sing Se look "short hair")

Zuko looked in the mirror.

"Well?" Katara said proud

Zuko touched his hair. He smiled. "Not half bad."

Katara smiled. "That's almost a thank you." she thought.

He interrupted once more. "You might just have a knack at this barber thing"

Katara twitched "then again" she thought as she hit him in the head.

She looked away. "Now for your clothes."

Katara went upstairs. Zuko blinked. She returned with 3 clothes in her hands.

Katara handed him the clothes. "These are my brother's. You can use them. He left it behind when he went to Hollywood. He forgot to pick up the laundry, that idiot."

Zuko looked at the clothes. "But these are all… blue and grey! They're water tribe material! I'm a firebender!"

Katara gritted her teeth. " Stop whining! Unless you want to borrow Aang's…"

Zuko grabbed the stuff. "No thanks! These will be fine."

Katara smiled at him. "That's more like it!" she thought.

Zuko looked at her grin. His eyes widened

"Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden!?"

Katara stopped smiling. _Why was she being nice? _Was it because she liked monopolizing the jerk… or the fact that… no way…

Zuko sighed. He realized what he had done.

Katara twitched. "What now?" she said straight into his golden eyes. "you bratty little prince like…" she mumbled to herself before he spoke once more.

Zuko looked away. He tried his best to compliment _the girl _he was currently hating. He has his pride to look at, too, he thought. If he ever complimented somebody below him he would… He shuddered and tried to smile. He said every word as if he were singing a rock song… "When you smile, you don't look that ugly."

Katara twitched. Was that a compliment or an insult? Either way she didn't like it.

Zuko gave him a sheepish smile.

Katara was more unease when she saw that. Her eyes twitched more as she spoke… "You're… you're evil!"

Zuko didn't want to ruin their moment. He had a lot of practice about getting along with fan girls he forgot who he was dealing with. He grinned even bigger and spoke. "Evil is just an understatement."

Katara tried to hide her blush. Who is he? What did he do with that inconsiderable, intolerable jerk she fought with moments ago. Somehow fighting with him is a lot more comfortable than this awkward phase…She threw the clothes she had on her arms at his grinning face. "Just get dressed already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

- - - - - COMMERCIAL- - - - -

Aunt Wu's fortune telling

Don't wait for the volcano to erupt…

Know it 3 minutes earlier!

- - - - -END COMMERCIAL- - - - -

Katara and Zuko walked to school. Zuko wore a blue shirt with grey sleeves that said "Never underestimate the power of a Smile". It made him twitch. Katara wore a light blue shirt with darker sleeves, a cute pair of pants and her mother's necklace. Zuko wondered why she always wore that thing. Katara saw him looking at her and blushed.

"What do you want!?"

Zuko looked away. "Is it so wrong just to look at you? Am I breaking some sort of rule you deal with everyday???"

Katara lazed her eyes. "Oh I thought you knew, snotty overlord! STARING IS RUDE!!!"

Zuko looked back at her. Before he could speak a girl from behind ran towards them. "Wait up!"

Katara and Zuko stopped and looked back. They saw a panting Suki running towards them. Zuko didn't know who she was. He nearly panicked before he remembered that he was in disguise.

Katara livened up the atmosphere with a simple "Hey, Suki."

Suki looked at Zuko. She blinked. Zuko broke into a cold sweat. He was caught for sure, he thought. He panicked even more when he saw Suki grinned.

"And who's this cute guy?" she said not taking her eyes off him. Somehow he looked familiar.

Katara and Zuko chocked before saying simultaneously… "CUTE???"

Katara laughed mockingly and practically cried laughing. "Are you kidding me? He's the total o…" she tried to continue but looked at Zuko, who wasn't amused at all and couldn't see why she hated him that much, I mean, they just met!

Zuko glared at her, ready to shoot fire.

Suki blinked. She didn't know what the heck was happening so she just interrupted with a clueless smile. "Well?"

Zuko grabbed this opportunity for him to introduce himself properly. "I'm Li."

Suki raised her brow. Somehow, it doesn't sound right. "Oh well…" she thought. She was more comfortable seeing Katara with him than that jerk she thought was Jet. "What's your relationship with Katara here?" she said to him. It made both of them jump.

Katara was about to tell her that he was an evil singer who is stuck with her because… because… well… she never thought of why he was with her. She was caught in a daze, thinking of what his life was like and why he wanted to run away from it… She was caught guilty of wrong judgement and she tried to think of something to cover for him...

Suki caught Katara in a very awkward silence. She snapped her fingers in front of Katara's face. It worked… although it made Katara more nervous…

"Are you okay?" she said waving her hands infront of Katara's face.

Katara didn't mind and just blabbed stuff like "Um…" and "Well…"

Zuko was amused at the clueless Katara. He didn't know why but he could sense the nervousness in her. This made him grin. He thought of yet another way to irritate her. It wasn't necessarily because he hated her, he was just more comfortable with her getting mad at him. He knew just what to say.

Katara kept on blabbing then Zuko spoke out of nowhere.

"She's my fiancé." he said blankly. Suki and Katara froze with a gasp. Katara's insides were boiling she knew she could've exploded. What IS his problem. "And to think I felt sorry for him and actually tried to cover for him!" she thought. "That is it! No more Ms. Nice Katara! It's war!!!"

Suki stopped on her tracks, eyes widened and jaw fallen. Katara stomped on Zuko's foot, which made him glare at her. But it stopped as soon as he saw that Katara's face was flaming red. He found it amusing. I mean, if he's stuck with her, best to do the best with it, and his purpose was to irritate her until his uncle was back.

Katara saw the smirk on his face and whispered. "why you little…" she said blushing.

Zuko whispered as well… "are you affected in any way?" he said to her.

Katara's eyes widened. He soooooooo has ISSUES! Can't he get into his little incompetent head that not all the girls are in love with him… "NO WAY YOU BIG CREPAZOID!!!"

"Then why are you blushing?" he snapped back.

"None of your business!" she screamed finally.

Suki didn't seem to notice the bickering of the two. She just exclaimed " RE-- really? I gotta tell the others!"

Katara glared at Zuko. Why does he find torturing me amusing? She thought.

Before she could scream NO!, Suki already dashed off for class.

All she could do now was shout at the top of her lungs… "NO! SUKI DON'T!"

She glared at Zuko. Zuko was grinning so big his eyes weren't showing. Katara twitched and snapped her fingers. Two can play at that game, Zuko!

"You like me, don't you?" putting her hands on her hips.

Zuko was stunned at her pose and can't help but blush. He managed to panic and scream though... "What!? Me, like a peasant? No way!"

Katara's eyes widened and she grinned. She finally got him. "Right." She said teasingly as she walked away.

Zuko's eyes widened. What has he done? She got the worst of all wrong ideas! He ran after her saying "Katara! DON'T WALK AWAY! COME BACK HERE PEASANT!!!" That's it, irritating her won't work! Back to arguing…

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**REVIEW PLEASE!**

**Or I won't continue this anymore…

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**EXTRAS**

Suki ran through the halls, she reached the classroom

"Toph! I have great news!"

"What is it?"

Everyone leaned in closer

Then her phone rang.

Everybody sighed and chanted "aww…."

Suki answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Suki!" said Sokka from the other line.

"He- - hey, Sokka! How's it been?"

Sokka goffed up again… "The air is pretty, did I mention you're face is fine?"

Suki's eye twitched. "What?"

Sokka realized what he had done. "No! I mean… uh.. uh… dah!"

Suki giggled. "I get it, Sokka."

Sokka calmed down… but not to calm… "Hey date, wanna go on a suki with me?"

Suki giggled harder. "what?"

"I mean… I .uh… Agni, why me!?"

Suki laughed hard… Everybody else already guessed that it was Sokka… so they laughed along… Suki cleared her throat and smiled. "I'd love to, Sokka. Bye bye now!"

Sokka grinned and jumped high in the air. He regained sane and said "Goodsuki now, bye!"

She hang up laughing. Sokka slapped his forehead.

Toph interrupted her laughing. "What were you gonna say?"

Suki blinked. "Huh? About what?"

Everybody slapped their forehead.


	3. Chapter 3

**Still not much reviews, kinda depressing… so:**

**I dedicate this to all the people who review! Love you guys!**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me? Own A:TLA? What, has hell frozen over now?**

* * *

Start:

Katara's face was beaming as she wore her genuine smirk. She found an interesting way of bugging Zuko for his first day of school! He wants to be her fiancé? He can't even handle her being an enemy!

Well, then, let's give the snotty stuck up prince what he wants! She thought as her smirk turned into a grin of evil.

Zuko kept shouting after her, losing his breath. What has be gotten himself into? He cursed himself for underestimating the girl, and vowed, if he ever got out of this alive, (meaning his honor intact) he would ship the girl to the south pole!

"What's the matter, can't catch up?" she mocked. She was about to enter the room, her plan ready in her head for all the awkward questions to be asked when:

Jet was leaning on the door frame, his arms crossed on his chest, a straw sticking out of his mouth, in his usual cocky grin.

"Mornin, Katara." He said as he lifted himself off the door frame.

Katara suddenly got lost and blushed. "Good morning, Jet." She beamed.

Finally Zuko caught up with her and was shouting… "Don't you dare, you evil witch!" was toned down when he saw her with somebody… a guy somebody…

Did he just get stabbed?

Jet's head shot up with the shout, though he didn't understand it. Katara looked back to where he was looking and glared the second she turned.

"Hey, who's the new kid?" he asked, passing Katara. Her expression dropped. Oh she was _so_ gonna kill Zuko later.

Zuko finally stood firmly. He saw how easily he passed Katara, and he didn't like the look on her face the moment he did. He started to glare at Jet, but restrained.

"I'm Li." He stated.

Jet gestured a friendly hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Li! I'm Jet." He said, draping his arm on his shoulder, as if they were pals all of a sudden.

A thing that Zuko would never allow.

He shrugged him off roughly, keeping his glare on him. He saw Katara glare at him, her piercing blue eyes waiting for him to do something polite.

A word not available in Zuko's vocabulary.

"pleasure" he lamely spat at Jet.

"So, you new in town?" he said, still not getting the clue. "Where do you live?" he asked, unconsciously taking the straw from his mouth, so he can talk better.

Zuko and Katara were both uncomfortable about this, both wanted to throw a rabid hog monkey at a _certain_ person.

"You gonna leave me hanging?" Jet inquired, seeming to notice Zuko's attention span.

Zuko was about to speak his mind on how he plans on leaving Jet hanging on a tree when the bell rang.

Jet suddenly turned and gestured Zuko to come with. "Come on, I'll be your tour guide," he offered.

Zuko coldly declined. "No thank you." Then followed.

"Why, you already got one?" Jet shrugged, heading inside, going past Katara, again.

Katara was hurt, at Jet's… behavior. _I mean, I know we're not serious or anything, but… _She just glared at the two boys.

Zuko returned her glare while Jet was too carefree to notice.

"yes…" he replied, still trying to shake this guy Jet loose.

Jet shot his head up. "Who?"

"His fiancé." Katara suddenly blurted out, walking towards Zuko. Zuko was equally surprised, but knew better than to blow their cover. He knew what Katara was doing, and it might just actually help him lose Jet.

Everybody's heat turned swiftly at the trio. The word fiancé coldly in the air.

Katara was next to Zuko, who was infront of Jet.

Jet's eyes were wide and his straw almost dropped from his mouth. He chocked.

"Excuse me?"

Katara looked at Zuko, her pleading blue eyes didn't seem familiar at all. Was she actually hurt? He was gonna help anyway, for his own reasons.

_You're doing this for yourself, Zuko._ He reminded himself quietly.

He snaked an arm around her waist. "She's my fiancé." He said lowly. He still kept a little distance, although they were pulled together.

Jet swiftly looked at Katara, who's eyes were downcast. He was looking for an answer.

Suddenly the teacher came in. (Great timing, the little monsters…)

Everybody quickly sat down at the start of class. Zuko sat in between Jet and Katara. Awkward much?

**Commercial**

Man, I'm so serious all of a sudden, I mean, even R.G thought I was an alien clone… more like a zombie…

I need to liven things up or I'll get serious-ish too much…

Need… supply… of… pudding… Must… bring back… humor…

**End commercial**

Class finally ended, and eventually every teen went to their respective friends in the hallways. In this case, Katara was with Toph, Suki, Aang, and… Zuko.

Off to the cafeteria.

Toph and Aang kept looking at each other, though the other one's is empty.

Suki kept giggling as the other couple glared at each other.

This is not my day… both of them thought at the exact same time.

"So, newlyweds, how's about some treating at the cafeteria?" Suki beamed.

Everybody looked at her strangely.

"That's sounded like it should have come out of SOKKA'S mouth!" Toph shouted.

Katara's eyes widened. Yes, it is, except for the newlyweds part.

He. Would. Explode.

"You've been hanging with Sokka too much, sis-in-law!" said Katara playfully. For a while, she got back to her usual self.

Suki giggled and blushed.

They entered the cafeteria and the whole world became silent.

A banner that wrote, in blue and blood red: "Enter the newlyweds"

Zuko and Katara's eyes widened. They looked at each other in horror.

Across the cafeteria, Jet was smirking half to himself.

"Hey, there they are!" he said, happily. He waved his arms up, inviting them to sit with him and his baseball teammates.

Suki, Aang and Toph glared at him. They knew very well how much of a jerk Jet can be.

Everybody went back to their normal business, although whispers and murmur cling in the air.

Zuko didn't glare, surprisingly. He looked over at Katara, whose face was threatening tears. He didn't want her to feel that way…

Wait a sec, didn't he HATE this girl just hours before?! It was like, mindless insulting and now, tears and jealousy?

Either way, he was a gentleman, (the hell, I need cookies…) and he reached for her, only for her to back down on his touch, continued proudly into the cafeteria.

Zuko cursed himself. Just then, he saw something that he was sure Katara wanted to know.

"Katara, wait!" he shouted suddenly.

His voice beamed through the whole cafeteria. Katara looked back, but was too late!

She was about to step on the banana peel.

(didn't see that coming, did you?)

Zuko suddenly ran to her, and like before, held her from falling. This time his arm supported her waist, not her hand.

The cafeteria fell silent once more, all their eyes on the couple who were practically in the middle of the room like they just ended a tango routine.

You could see head on Katara was blushing. Zuko looked away the second they made eye contact.

He murmured. "Klutz."

Katara's jaw dropped with the insult and tried to push away, trying to release her grip when…

It only grew them closer as Zuko's body also fell unsteady. He leaned closer, losing his balance. Their faces were centimeters away as they looked at each other's eyes, breathlessly.

(God, I'm being fluffy… Yay!)

Everybody held their breath, on the edge of their seats, forks in the air as mouths were open, longing for the spaghetti on the fork, for the next thing to happen.

* * *

**That was ****THE**** shortest chapter I have ever written for Secret Music…**

**You know why?**

**Not that I don't appreciate you reviews but… It's ****kinda depressing**** seeing only such **_**few reviews**_** that are, oh say an **_**hundred times**_** divided the hits…**

**Thanks for taking the time to read this rather serious chapter.**

**I swear, if I get my chocnut back, I will get back to the funny, nonsense we all know and love.**

**Not unless you want this fic to be more serious.**

**What do you think?**

**I won't update until you tell me what you want! REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, this is the 4th chapter of Secret Music. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own A:TLA or any of the songs I'm about to insert in this fanfiction…

* * *

**Secret Music**

Jet rose from his seat, anger in his eyes. He was made a fool of, in his school. By a new transferee, no less. He glared at the couple as he approached them.

The whole cafeteria grew silent, as well as Suki, Toph and Aang. Worried looks were on their faces.

Without anything further, Zuko helped Katara up as soon as he regained his balance. Katara thanked him with a brief bow. Both were as red as cherry tomatoes.

"You did that on purpose!" Jet said, grabbing Zuko's collar.

"Did what?" he still glared.

"Jet!" Katara said, grabbing his arm, but Jet pushed her off. Katara's fall was cushioned by Aang's airbending. Suki and Toph ran to her.

"Jet, you're insane!" Suki said, fuming.

"Shut up." He said, still not taking his glare away from Zuko. "Sokka's not here to protect your pretty little self, so don't get any ideas."

Suki's eyes widened as she gaped. "Why you jerk!" she said, jumping for him, when Katara and Toph restrained her.

Jet smirked. Zuko wasn't putting up a fight. He could just kick him right now and end it.

"I pity you." Zuko finally said. Everybody shifted to the new student.

"Excuse me?" he spat.

"What, are you deaf too?" he said, reaching for his clenched hand and releasing his grip on Zuko's collar.

Jet glared. He restrained himself and smirked. "Why should I bother myself of what you think?"

"Jet, stop it!" Katara warned, standing up and bending a water blob.

Jet turned. "Why? What's gonna happen to me?" he mocked. "You won't do anything to me, babe. I know it. You love me too much."

Katara and Zuko's eyes widened. Would this jerk sink that low? Katara's face was soft, and stern the next.

"You're wrong, Jet." She whispered. Her face was downcast but her bending was s till focused.

Zuko smirked. Jet's face fell.

"What?"

Katara looked up with a smirk of her own. "I _loved_ you too much." Then she threw the blob at him. Zuko got out of the way in time as she pushed him further, causing his back to meet cement. She then blew cold as the water turned to ice, freezing Jet on the pole.

(remind you of the episode "Jet" by any chance?)

Zuko smirked as Jet tried to break free.

Katara walked up to Zuko and pulled his hand. "Come on." She said harshly, not releasing the glare from Jet.

"Katara!" he shouted. "You can't do this to me!"

Aang and Toph looked back. "Apparently, she can." They both said in unison with a chuckle as they left the cafeteria.

Suki glared at the boy and noticed something on the floor. "Wait, guys." She said picking it up and walking to Jet.

"You forgot this." She said forcefully putting the straw in his mouth. "There, isn't that much better?" she smirked and turned coldly. A little payback goes a long way.

Katara and Suki giggled, along with Aang and Toph. Zuko kept still.

They were still holding hands.

Katara noticed his look and quickly let go. She blushed furiously.

What's coming over me? This is the jerk, remember? He just caught you from falling because of a stupid banana peel on the floor. And that he covered for me with Jet… Get a hold of yourself, Katara! You have APPA © Designer boots to win!

"Katara…" Suki said snapping her fingers in front of the dazed teen.

Katara's eyes widened. "Huh, what?"

They were on the grass snack area. They were sitting next to each other in a circle.

"What's wrong with you, Sugar Queen?" Toph asked, sipping a box of Aang's apple juice while he wasn't looking.

"Nothing… nothing's wrong." She said, arching her brow.

She looked around and didn't find the subject of her day dream.

Suki and Toph snickered. "If you're looking for Li, he said he was just making a phone call." Suki said, amused of her distracted friend.

"Oh," Katara s aid, half ready to look for him. Toph shook the earth and made her sit down, hard.

"Hold on, Sugar Queen, you can be away from your prince for a while." She smirked.

Katara rolled her eyes. She doesn't know how right she is about the Prince part…

"So…" Suki stressed. "How long was the engagement?" she said excitedly.

"Yeah, I'm kinda shocked as well. Book-ish Katara, an engaged gal. You know Sugar Queen, we're only in 2nd year."

Katara blushed. "What?!"

She looked at them in disbelief. She had just dumped the love of her life and they want to talk about that?

"Come on! We're your friends!" Toph said… "Well, sort of like that, tell us now or I will make you." She said threateningly. "Believe me, Sugar Queen, I can."

"Well… I…" she was stammering, right before Aang and Zuko came back.

"Hey guys, what's up?" he said sitting next to Toph and holding his juice box in hand. It felt lighter. He raised his eyebrow and shook it.

"Toph!" he glared at the earthbender next to him.

Toph looked at him with innocent eyes. "Huh? What?" she asked coyly.

Zuko sat next to Katara, who moved away uncomfortably. He arched his brow and remembered…

This is just a peasant… who happens to be hiding me from the media…

"So, how long have you been engaged? Come on, Katara!" Suki pleaded.

They gulped.

Toph butt in. "How'd Snoozles react to it?" she giggled as Aang pouted, shaking his empty apple juice.

"Um, well..." Zuko started.

Katara's eyes widened. Yeah, how would his brother react?

Suddenly she remebered... bOomerang was a top charter until Zuko came along and conquered it. Sokka was furious when he found out.

She gulped.

"I know!" Toph said. "Let's call him and find out!" she took out her green and orange phone and flipped it open.

"NO!" the couple shouted.

Toph smirked.

Somehow, Katara and Zuko both knew she found them out.

**OH NO!**

What now, you two? Can't keep the truth from Toph!

Please review!

kalyn19


	5. Chapter 5

Hello guys! Sorry for the cliffhanger! I was in a hurry! So, please enjoy this one as well!

Thanks for the reviews, guys!

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA… but I do own the pudding I'm eating now! That's worth something!

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 5

The group looked at the couple. They all had their brows arched.

"Um…" Katara started nervously. "I… need to go to the bathroom! Come with me, Toph?"

Toph smirked. Bingo. "Sure, sugar queen, whatever."

Suki stood up and dusted her jeans. "I'll come with!"

"No!" Zuko shouted, which startled the group. "Uh… I need to ask you some things about the pea-- Katara."

"oh…" she said sitting back down. "Okay."

Aang perked up. "Ooh! Can I come?" he asked.

Katara and Toph looked at him weirdly. "Um…"

"Aang…" Katara started, "It's the _girl's_ bathroom."

"So what? Twinkle Toes can come, I mean, if he wants to be a girl—"

"No thanks…" he said as he quickly sat back down. "I'll just sit here…"

Katara smiled and Toph snickered. "Be back in a sec."

With the girls…

"How'd you find out?" Katara asked as soon as she closed the door.

Toph had a smirk. "Well, you can't really hide that stuff from me."

Katara slapped her forehead. Duh! She can tell! She sighed. "Toph, please don't tell anyone!"

Toph shrugged. She had an evil smirk on her lips. A smirk that gave Katara goose bumps…

"Alright… on 3 conditions."

Katara threw her head back. "Three? Why not 1?"

"Because, my dear Katara…" she started. "I'm not dumb like Snoozles."

Katara sighed. "Fine."

"One… You have to tell me the _entire_ truth,"

"Why would I tell you that?" she asked.

"Duh! So I can cover for you whenever Aang asks something silly, and occasionally Suki."

Katara nodded in agreement. Toph has her back after all.

"Two… You have to keep quiet at night! No shouting, no banging, no crashing, no anything!" she shouted the end.

Katara snickered. "Sure Toph…" she said.

Toph continued ranting. "It's kinda hard to have some shuteye for people like me!"

"I get it Toph."

"I mean, I have sensitive hearing AND feeling!" she continued.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Okay, Toph." She said lamely.

Toph sighed. "Hehe…" she said sheepishly.

"What's the third one?"

"Hmm…" the pale girl hummed as she placed a finger on her chin. "I'll hold you on that one."

Katara sighed, relieved. "Thanks Toph."

"I can't think of anything to torture you… yet." She smirked.

Katara hung her head. "I knew it…"

"Wait…" the blind girl suddenly spoke. "Does Sokka know?"

"Not yet." Katara shook her head. "I haven't told him. Besides, he would freak! I mean, it's Zuko!"

Toph nodded. "Yeah, knowing Snoozles he would… But you know Katara, you have to tell him sometime, you know, _before_ he comes home. He'll be pretty shocked to see you living with a rising star."

Katara chuckled. "I'm sure it'll be the shock of his life."

Toph laughed. "Yeah… so…" Toph handed Katara her orange and green phone.

With the super star and Suki… Aang bought another juice box…

"So, what did you want to ask about Katara?" she asked.

"Well…" he started. "How come she lives alone?"

Suki blinked. "You see, Sokka, her brother, is in Hollywood. He's the guitarist of 'bOomerang'. You know, the famous band."

Zuko shrugged. "Yeah I know." How could he forget? He had to do 3 singles to beat them off the chart.

"He bought her that apartment cause their father is a seaman and isn't home often. Their grandmother, Gran Gran, is in a retirement home. They said it would be better for her." She continued.

Zuko nodded. As if he cared. "And, they aren't worried about her one bit?"

Suki looked at him weirdly. "Of course they do! Where do you think she gets her allowance from?"

Zuko looked down. He had the same thing. A family, and only money to show for it. Good thing Iroh took him under his wing, or else he would still be the boring rich heir to their company, a company he didn't want to take over.

"If you're wondering, Katara is sad about it. Being left behind. But she prefers to finish her studies and be with her friends, us. Sure she is lonesome sometimes, but she has you, doesn't she?" Suki asked, she was happy Katara finally found a person to accompany her in that house.

Zuko's head shot up, a blush crept onto his cheeks. "What?"

Suki chuckled. "You know what I mean. It's a relief seeing her independent of that jerk Jet and with someone else."

Zuko chuckled nervously. If he was her, he wouldn't be so relieved.

"Just do one thing for me," Suki said in a daze. "Whatever you do, don't ever hurt her." She warned lowly. "Cause if you do, I know a pretty big group of people who would hurt you."

Zuko gulped, taking the warning not near lightly. He only has one thing to do now.

"You can trust me…" he lied.

Suki smiled contently. Just then, Aang came back with two juice boxes.

"Hey Aang." Suki greeted. "Why do you have an extra juice box?" she asked with an arched brow.

"In case Toph feels the need to steal mine…" he shrugged and sat back down.

Suki chuckled. "You two sure are close, aren't you?"

Aang gulped, a blush on his cheek. "Well… it's kinda hard not to be… if you know what I mean…"

Suki threw her head back and laughed while Zuko forced an amused smile.

Back with Katara and Toph…

Toph laughed. "Yeah… so…" Toph handed Katara her orange and green phone.

Katara sighed and shoved it back gently. "I'll call him on my cell."

Toph took it back. "Good, cause my allowance can't handle Sokka's long sermon on the phone. My cellphone bill is high as it is." She snickered.

Katara cast her eyes upward. "Oh Agni…" she pressed Sokka's speed dial and waited anxiously.

"Katara! Calm down! Your heartbeat is making me deaf!" Toph scrunched up her nose as she covered her sensitive ears.

"Sorry, Toph." Katara apologized.

"Hello?" the voice from the other line said.

The girls jumped.

"Um, Sokka?"

"K'tara!" Sokka exclaimed. "I was just about to call you!"

Katara threw her head back. "You were?"

Toph raised her eyebrow. "Why?"

"I'm coming home in two days! And I'm bringing a surprise!"

"WHAT?!" the two said in unison.

"Excited?" Sokka asked, unable to hide his own excitement.

"Um, Sokka, it's a bit unexpected, you know…"

"Yeah! I was gonna surprise you, but I figure two surprises won't be good for your heart." He boasted.

"I'm having a heart attack right now…" Katara murmured.

"What?"

"Um, nothing! Yeah, that's great Sokka!"

"Great! So, I'll just come home around 7 then and we'll go out to eat at McShu's, 'kay?"

Katara was panicking. "Um… su—"

"Great! See ya, sis! Bye!"

Then the line went dead.

"Katara?" Toph asked. There was a loud thump.

Katara nearly fainted, but kept on her knees, dazed. "Does Agni hate me or something?" she cried pathetically.

"No, Sugar Queen. That's Sokka talk! Pull yourself together!" Toph said as she stomped on the ground, causing it to shake.

Katara breathed out slowly.

"Where's the water bending master in you, Katara? You took out that Jet jerk just moments ago and now you're all…" Toph said in disgust… "…wobbly."

Katara stood up, realizing her out-of-character-ness. "You're right!" she exclaimed, balling her fists.

"When have I not been?" Toph smirked as she crossed her arms. Proud she smacked some sense back into Katara.

"This isn't gonna shake me! I got APPA© designer boots to win!" she exclaimed as she posed heroically.

Toph slapped her forehead. "Good enough… Now let's go tell everybody Snoozles is comin' home."

**CLIFFHANGER**

* * *

Well well well… look at the cliffhanger… **Please review!**

;)

Thanks for reading! Please click the purple button!

kalyn19


	6. Chapter 6

Hello guys! This is the next (dramatic) chapter of Secret Music!

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA… Isn't that fun!

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 6

Toph slapped her forehead. "Good enough… Now let's go tell everybody Snoozles is comin' home."

Katara nodded, her hands on her chest, wishing the rapid heartbeat would stop.

They headed back to the group and was greeted by Aang.

"Hey guys! What took you so long?" he asked, then he sipped some apple juice.

Toph raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You really wanna know?"

Aang dropped his juice box as his eyes widened. "No thanks…"

"Really, Aang." Toph continued. "I could tell you if you want."

Suki giggled. "Stop traumatizing the poor boy, Toph."

"What?" Toph shrugged. "He asked!"

Suki shook her head amused as Katara sat between her and Zuko.

"Katara, you okay?" Suki asked, waving a hand in front of the dazed Katara's face.

"Huh?" she snapped back. "Yeah…"

"What's the matter?" Zuko asked all of a sudden. That made her heart skip.

"Um…" she gulped. "Zu— Li? Can we talk, in private?" she said not looking at him.

Zuko raised his eyebrow but nodded and stood up. He held out his hand for her to get, which she didn't. She stood on her own and walked.

Zuko glared at his hand. What was he thinking? He placed the hand in his pocket and clenched it.

Suki, Toph and Aang looked at each other in confusion.

"Toph, what happened?" Suki asked.

Toph took the juice box in Aang's hand and sipped from it. Then she shrugged.

Aang glared but smiled as he pulled the new juice box. "Ha!" he said mockingly.

Toph turned to him. She placed hers down and took Aang's, then dumped it on his head.

The avatar pouted. Suki giggled.

"You two look so cute together," she commented.

That made Toph spray out what she was drinking.

With the two…

"What did you want to talk about?" Zuko asked as soon as he closed the door. They were in the storage room.

Katara raised her brow at him. Why was he being so nice? She crossed her arms on her chest and breathed out. Whatever it is, it had great timing, she didn't need to deal with his attitude right now.

"Um, you know my brother, Sokka, right?"

Zuko nodded as he sat on the gym mats that were stacked. "Yeah, the guitarist in bOomerang, right?

"Yeah, that Sokka." She said leaning on the hurdle stack across him. "You see, he's coming home…"

Zuko's eyes widened. "When?"

Katara lowered her head. "In two days."

Zuko stood up and went to her. "What? But, how? What's gonna happen? Uncle hasn't called yet."

Katara glared at him. "Calm down. We just need to figure out how to explain things to him." She stopped suddenly. "Without him fainting."

"Why don't we just tell him what we told the others? That we're engaged?"

Katara glared. "Because, that is exactly what will cause my brother to faint!"

Zuko rubbed the back of his head. "Fine. But if we tell him something else, the others will get suspicious!"

Katara nodded. "Yeah. But we have back up."

Zuko's face lit up. "Uncle called you?"

"No, you dodo brain. We have Toph." She narrowed her eyes.

The prince was confused. "The loud mouth brat?"

Katara glared but nodded. "She knows. And she promised to have our back for these things."

"What's the catch?" he immediately asked.

Katara's head shot up and raised her eyebrow.

"Nothing's free. What's the catch?" he asked again.

"Nothing." she said. "Just, we need to tell her everything and that we shouldn't be noisy at night."

Zuko nodded. "She really is a smart girl, isn't she?"

Katara sighed in defeat. "Yeah." She said dropping her hands to her sides.

Awkward silence.

"Um, so what do we tell your brother?"

Katara bit her lip. "I have no idea."

Zuko hung his head. He was about to shout _stupid peasant!_ When he remembered, she just dumped her jerk of a crush. He was being… sympathetic? He looked over to Katara, who was looking at the side, her hands on her hips. He couldn't help but blush at the sight. That always distracted him, her pose. He suddenly looked at her neck and looked at the necklace again. His eyes widened.

"Is that a betrothal necklace?" he asked, pointing at the silver and blue accessory.

Katara's hand shot up to it. "Yeah. It was my mom's. She gave it to me. Why?"

Zuko was about to shake her shoulders when she picked up.

"Oh!" she gaped. "Wait, we're getting betrothed, **for real**?!" she exclaimed.

Zuko shook his head rapidly. "No! We'll just make it look like we are! With the help of that necklace!"

"How?" Katara said, clutching her necklace.

Zuko smirked. "Give it to me." He said approaching her.

"No!" Katara yelled, stepping back.

"Just trust me!" he said stepping forward again.

Katara gulped. "Why should I?"

This was too much. She knew helping was the right thing to do, but why her? And who should she when this is the guy she hated so much?! She agreed to help him, but not at all costs.

She was finally backed down to the wall, meaning she can't step back anymore. Her heart was beating fast as Zuko approached her. She winced, afraid of what to happen next, his hands reached for the back of her neck, and brushed her cheek lightly. She blushed with the touch. It was warm.

She gasped when it stopped. Her eyes opened when she saw him retreat. His face was closer than she thought. She felt an absence and looked at his hand. He was holding the necklace.

"What do you plan to do?" she said softly.

Zuko glared at her. How stupid could this peasant be? He reached for her. Katara placed her hands on his shoulders to keep him away, but he started whispering in her ear when…

The door opened and in came Song, whose eyes widened with the sight.

Katara was backed to the wall, while Zuko's face was near her ear. His hand was on the wall, for support. Her hands were on his shoulders, like she was clinging to him. His other hand was clenching the necklace. Basically, it looked like they just made out.

Zuko and Katara's eyes widened in surprise. _Oh no._

"I- I'm sorry!" Song said as she covered her mouth. "I didn't mean to!" she slammed the door and left them in the dark.

Zuko pushed off of the wall and looked at the door. "Crap."

Katara's hands shot up to her mouth. "Oh shoot." She slid down the wall.

Zuko switched his glance at her. "What's wrong, peasant? It's not like we really did what she thought we did."

Katara shot him a glare. "You really have no idea how school works, do you?" she stood up, clenching her fists.

They were back to their bickering normal selves.

"They will make something of anything they see! They will spread the rumors and basically kill your reputation!" she screamed.

She can't handle it. She was a Straight A Captain of the Volley Ball team and the Vice-President of the student government. Basically the perfect student.

"People will do anything to get the dirt on people like me!" she shouted.

Zuko didn't back down. "You mean like the paparazzi?" he glared. He totally got what she was saying.

Katara's expression softened. "Ye- yeah. But it's different!"

"How is it different?" he was the one shouting now. "Oh yeah, it's worse compared to your little drama. Do you honestly believe _half_ the stuff the media prints out? And not like you, the rumors spread about people like me _world wide_! It's bad enough that they kill reputations, but they kill our personalities too! So don't shout at me like that when you don't know the hell you're talking about!" he exploded. He had kept that in for quite a while. He understood her perfectly. Seeing as though "rumors" are one of the major things why he ran out on show business.

Katara fell backwards. She was too pre occupied by seeing it her way that she didn't realize how hard it could be in a larger scale.

"I-- I'm sorry." She said softly. "I didn't think of it that way…"

Zuko breathed out steam as he sat down. "Nobody does. They just think that whatever's interesting to print was the truth."

Katara looked down. "I'm sorry. Really."

He lied down on the floor and ran his fingers through his hair. "It's alright. I freaked out too when it first happened to me." He remembered the headlines on the so-called "scandal"

"No." Katara said weakly. "I _believed_ them. Well, most of the tales they said about you. It kinda gave me the wrong image."

Zuko looked at her weirdly. "You did?"

Katara nodded shyly. "What an idiot, huh? It's just that, when I came to Hollywood with my brother once, I met a celebrity called Haru. He was so kind and sweet, then when the paparazzi was gone, he became this completely different guy!" she ranted.

Zuko nodded. He waited for her to continue.

"It just… stamped in my brain that every celebrity, except my brother, was like that. And when I saw you, it's like, the ultimate celebrity. And in my heart, I just wanted to believe everything the tabloids said to complete my image of you." She said lowly.

"Oh…" Zuko said, staring at the ceiling. "I see…" Was his image that bad?

Katara swiftly glanced at him. "No! I… that's not what I meant." She scooted closer to him. Her knees were on her chest and she rested her head on them. He was lying next to her.

He looked up at her. "Are all those things that believable?"

Katara shook her head. "No. I just did it to satisfy myself on what I thought was a celebrity that I didn't intrigue it all that much."

Zuko nodded. "Is that why you were so nasty to me?" he said, a cheesy smirk on his lips.

Katara glared back at him. "Yes it, is. And I'm sorry. Now, what's your excuse for acting so rude?"

Zuko sat up suddenly, using his arms for support, so they were nose to nose. "Me? Apologize? Get real, peasant."

Katara narrowed her eyes. "See? It was you who started it! The…" she used air quotes_, __"Shush it up, will ya, peasant!"_ she imitated his harsh whisper that night.

Zuko chuckled at her attempt to mimic his voice.

Katara looked at him and blushed. "What?" she glared.

He shook his head and stood up. Katara looked up at his, still glaring.

"Hey! Aren't you gonna apologize?" she said, standing up as well.

Zuko put his hands in his pockets, along with the necklace. "Not on your life."

With a smirk on his lips, he reached for the doorknob and exited, leaving Katara to gape.

"I don't believe that guy! He is such a snotty, stuck up…"

Zuko entered the room and took her hand, adding shock to the water bender.

"Come on, let's face this little drama of yours. If it's one thing I know how to handle, it's rumors."

Katara glared at him but didn't release from his grip. "Fine. The sooner this is over with, the better."

And with that, they faced the student body.

With one thing forgotten… **what will they do about Sokka?!**

* * *

Sorry for the drama, guys! It just needed to be there.

And does it remind you of the Crystal Catacombs? I wanted to make it as close to the series as possible, it being an AU and all…

Anyway, please review!

Thanks guys!

kalyn19


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for the kind words! Love you guys!

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA… Isn't that fun!

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 7

And with that, they faced the student body…

With one thing forgotten… **what will they do about Sokka?!**

"Wait!" Katara exclaimed, taking her hand. "Won't people gain suspicion if we both come out of the storage room at the same time?"

Zuko looked at her. "That's the idea peasant. If we face it head on, and don't deny it, they'll lose interest. Isn't that right?"

Katara placed her hand on her hip and her finger to her lip. "Hmm, yeah you're right. Nice going. That's actually a good idea, stuck-up prince!"

Zuko glared.

Just then, two Kyoshi warriors, in Suki's unit, were passing by. They looked at the couple and whispered to each other.

Katara's nightmare came true.

"Have you heard? The only reason they got engaged was cause Katara can't take her hands off him." One said harshly.

The other girl glared. "How demeaning. To think we're just in high school."

Katara was near tears. She didn't know it got that bad.

The second one spoke. "Oh look, the tramp's looking at us, let's go."

"Come on," they walked off, glaring at Katara.

Zuko glared at the girls, then shifted his gaze to the girl beside her.

Katara's jaw fell at what she heard. She was about to faint. But she remembered what Toph told her.

This isn't gonna break her!

Katara's face became stern as her eyebrows met. "Hey hags!" she called out.

Zuko jumped.

The two girls looked back in disgust. "What do you want, Katara?"

Katara put her hands on her hips. "Nothing. What else could I ask for?" she said motioning for Zuko to come beside her.

The two girls glared. "Maybe a little self control." The first girl said. The second one giggled.

Zuko came beside her and took her hand. "These two geeks buggin' you?" he asked, glaring at the two, who gaped.

They blushed. "What did you just say?"

"Oh look." Zuko snorted. "Not only are they ugly, they're deaf too."

She giggled harshly.

The first girl blushed. She was being humiliated! "At least I'm not a tramp like you!" she pointed at Katara.

Katara held back tears. She can do this… she can do this.

"Can you blame her?" Zuko smirked. "I mean, just look at me."

Katara's eye twitched.

"If I'd know any better, I'd say you two are jealous. By the looks of it, you ugly ducks can't get a date for your life." He said coldly.

Katara's eyes widened. He's good at being bad.

"Hmph!" the second girl said, blushing furiously. "Come on, Chi! We don't need to deal with these two. We have better things to do." She pulled her friend's hand, who was glaring at them.

Zuko motioned Katara to take the last blow. Katara nodded and took a deep breath.

"Yeah. You could start by burning those rags and buy some real clothes!" she smirked.

Zuko looked at her weirdly. Katara batted her eyes.

"What? They're hideous! I've seen voodoo dolls with better clothes." She said innocently.

Zuko chuckled lowly as the crowd who watched did so as well. The two girls ran for it before they shrunk into oblivion.

"Sugar Queen!" Toph exclaimed behind the crowd. "Let me through you dunder head!" she said as she pushed the unfortunate guy in front of her… who fell face first into the ground.

Suki and Aang soon followed.

"What's the drama?" Suki asked approaching the laughing couple.

Aang helped the guy out and ran to them. "Hey guys! What's with the crowd?"

Toph sighed. "Why don't we talk about this where we don't look like a main attraction in a circus?"

They all went back to their spot, but after Zuko let go of Katara.

"So, you have some guts after all, huh sugar queen? I knew you had it in you, just didn't expect for you to show it here, in school." Toph grinned proudly.

Katara shrugged coyly. "What can I say, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

Suki smiled Never has she seen this headstrong Katara anywhere near Campus. In school, it was always Book-ish type who tails Jet. Now she's Miss Independent! She looked at her neck. Her eyes widened.

"Katara, where's your mother's necklace?" she gasped.

Katara's hand shot up and she didn't feel it's familiar shape engraved. "Uh…"

Zuko looked at her. Aang did, too, his jaw fell.

"Katara! You lost it? Where'd you last see it? We'll look for it!" he panicked.

"Wait!" Toph said, shaking the earth. "Why do you guys give such a fuss about a stupid—"

She was muzzled by Aang's hands. "Don't say that!"

Zuko looked at Suki. "What's wrong?"

Suki breathed in. "Well, you see…"

"No Suki, don't tell it, please!" Katara pleaded, crimson was the color of her cheeks.

Zuko raised her eyebrow. "Okay, now I want to know. Say it."

Suki bowed to Katara sorry. "You see, the last time she thought she lost it was when she was 8… The necklace meant that much to her that she threw a fit and bended the whole water supply into ice. She said she won't return it until we find her necklace."

Katara pouted. "I was EIGHT!"

"Why didn't another waterbender just unfreeze it?" Toph said, her voice muzzled.

Katara sighed. "You're looking at the only waterbender in the whole city."

"Oh…" she lazed her eyes at Aang, who still didn't let go.

"Continue." Zuko said, a smirk on his lips. Nothing like an embarrassing story from her childhood to tease her more.

"And after 10 minutes she broke the ice in the ice rink with a big pout and… let's just say we were banned from said ice rink. Sokka had to fix the ice rink all by himself." She said sheepishly.

"Hey look at the time!" Katara tried. "We're gonna be late for class!" she said standing up and pulling Toph up, only to be pulled back down.

She glared at Zuko. "I hate you."

Zuko shrugged. "I know."

Toph bit Aang's hand and he jumped, cradling his sore hand.

"So," Toph asked. "Did you find it?"

Katara smiled sheepishly. "Hey guys, you know, we are wasting valuable hall minutes, we could be taking stuff from our locker now…"

"Well," Suki continued, "Turns out the necklace was tucked in her shirt and she didn't put it out. She had it all along."

Toph and Zuko blinked. Then they doubled over in laughter.

"That was _the_ dumbest thing I have ever heard!" Toph shouted.

Zuko was clenching his stomach. "And you called me a dodo brain!"

Katara blushed furiously. "Well, you are!" she shouted.

Toph sat up suddenly. "Um, Sugar Queen, what time is it?" she asked.

Katara looked at her wristwatch. "Oh no! We're 10 minutes late for 4th period!"

They all gasped.

"Come on, guys! Let's go before Principal Pakku gets us!" Aang said, standing up. He was about to head left.

Toph pulled his collar. "No, moron! He's right there! Let's go this way!" she pointed to the other direction.

"But that's the west wing! Our classes are in the south!" Katara panicked. Never has she been late for class. Never.

Toph stood up. "Well, it's better than having detention, now is it?"

Katara nodded and stood up. "Yeah, we still have to shop for Zu-- Li's clothes."

Zuko looked at her and stood up. "Yeah, I'm tired of wearing Water Tribe clothing."

Suki stood up and fixed up the place. "That's why the outfit looks familiar!"

"Come on!" Aang shouted.

They ran to the west wing as fast as they could.

In the east wing hallway, Principal Pakku looked out at the garden. "Hmm, I swore I heard voices." He narrowed his eyes and became suspicious.

The group panted as they were out of sight.

"Tui and La, that was close." Suki swore, her hand on her chest as she tried to control her breath.

Toph slid down the wall. "Next time, remind us of the time Sugar Queen!"

"I did!" Katara said, her hands on her hips, her forehead glistening.

"Oh…"

Zuko breathed out. "Aren't we supposed to get going now?"

Aang nodded. "We can't skip the whole period!"

"We have no choice, Aang." Suki said. "We will get detention if we get there late."

Toph pumped her fists in the air. "Yeah! We're cutting class!" she grinned widely.

"Shh!" Katara said, placing her finger on her lips. "You don't need to shout it out to the whole world!"

"Well, what do we do now?" Aang said nervously. "We never cut class before."

"Speak for yourself, Twinkle Toes." Toph grinned widely.

Everybody gave her a weird look.

"What?" she said innocently. "Geometry is so boring."

Everybody slapped their foreheads except Zuko.

Zuko was looking at an isolated area in the school. There was a shack. "Hey, we can go there!"

The group looked at it and gulped.

"That's the haunted north wing, Li. We can't go there!" Suki said. She remembered her last trip there with a certain water tribe boy.

Zuko's face looked stern. "Then it's perfect. Nobody will find us there."

Katara nodded but was still shaking. "Fine."

They headed there slowly. Katara walked up to Zuko.

"You sure know what you're doing." She said, a bit annoyed.

Zuko shrugged. "I've had plenty of practice from fan girls."

Katara glared. "Your ego is huge, you know that?"

"At least it's saving us, unlike your self proclaimed smarts."

Katara narrowed her eyes and walked faster. Zuko followed her.

"You're stubborn!" Katara spat.

Zuko glared. "You're childish."

Katara sighed in frustration and cast her eyes upward. "Agni, take me now!"

* * *

Yehey! Back to bickering and not dramatic! That's enough drama for 5 five chapters! Next 5 chapters, look out for it. :D

Please review! And if you find any of them OOC, please tell me!

Constructive criticism is accepted, and most especially your kind and encouraging words.

Flames, come on guys! It's summer, I've suffered enough heat!

Joke! Thanks for reading!

kalyn19


	8. Chapter 8

Wow, thank you so much for the kind reviews, guys! Even if i only got a few reviews, what's written in them makes it worth wile to update!

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA, so let's throw a party cause we're all happy, fun and perky! :D

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 8

**Previously on Secret Music:**

_Zuko was looking at an isolated area in the school. There was a shack. "Hey, we can go there!"_

_The group looked at it and gulped._

"_That's the haunted north wing, Li. We can't go there!" Suki said. She remembered her last trip there with a certain water tribe boy._

_Zuko's face looked stern. "Then it's perfect. Nobody will find us there."_

**Currently on Secret Music:**

"Hey!" Suki waved. "Me and Aang are gonna gather some stuff to sit on in the gardens!"

Katara nodded. This was the perfect time to talk about what they'll do about Sokka.

When they reached the place, Toph was sitting on an earthen stool. She bended them some too.

Katara raised her brow and sat down. "I thought… then why is Suki and Aang?"

"So we can talk about Snoozles in private."

Katara nodded. Zuko looked at the two girls.

"Snoozles is Sokka, moron." Toph said. "Man, how dull is he?"

Katara sighed. "Frankly, I'm afraid to know…"

"Hey!" Zuko shouted.

"Shut it, hot head. We've got better things to do. Now, Katara, what do you plan to tell your brother about Zuko?"

Katara bit her lip. "No idea."

Toph's eyes widened. "WHAT?! Then what the heck did you do in that storage room?"

Katara and Zuko blushed. "Um… well…"

"Hold up." Toph said raising her hand. "Don't tell me the rumors are true!"

"NO!" Katara blushed as she shook her head rapidly.

Toph crossed her arms. "Right, then what did you do?"

Zuko put his hands in his pockets and he felt something. "Wait!"

He pulled out the necklace. "Look at this!"

Toph sighed. "Uhuh. Gee, Zuko's that's a nice bandana! The perfect shade of pink and black! Where'd you get it? Though I think it isn't your color, you're more of a purple. Anyway, good idea! We can just tie it around Sokka's eyes the whole time!"

Zuko's jaw dropped while Katara giggled.

"It's the necklace the peasant was wearing!" he shouted.

"Oh, why didn't you say so?" she smiled sweetly.

Katara laughed as Zuko hung his head.

"So, you two are really getting betrothed?" Toph said, pulling a can from her bag.

"No, but we're gonna make it look like we are." Zuko said as Toph handed him the soda can.

"And still I'm disgusted out of my skin." Katara mumbled as she smiled sweetly as Zuko gave her a glare.

"So, how do you plan on doing that?" Toph asked, waiting for Zuko to open her soda can.

Katara shrugged. "Actually, it was all Zuko's idea. We got… interrupted… before he gave me the 411."

Toph shifted her empty gaze at the fire bender. "And what is the rest of the plan?"

"Well," Zuko said rubbing the back of his head. "This peasant always has this on, right? When her brother sees that she doesn't have it on, he'll think something's up."

Toph and Katara nodded. "Then?"

Zuko gulped. "Well, I don't know, I really don't think these things through."

The two girls slapped their foreheads.

"How does your uncle deal with you?" Katara said, narrowing her eyes.

Zuko blinked. "I have no idea. And that's none of your business, peasant!"

"But," Katara pouted. "I need to learn the secret of dealing with a selfish stuck up, idiotic snob like you. He must be a genius!"

"Ha. Ha." Zuko chuckled sarcastically.

"EHEM!" Toph cleared her throat loudly.

The bickering two lowered their heads. "Sorry."

"To be stuck with you…" Zuko mumbled below a whisper.

Katara glared. Toph was irritated.

"I'm starting to miss Twinkle Toes, and that's A LOT coming from me." Toph snapped.

"Fine." Katara said, shocked. "So what do you propose to do?" she said crossing her legs.

Toph smirked. "I have an idea."

She pulled the two close to her and whispered the plan.

Katara pulled away. "You've been hanging out with Sokka too much."

Toph lazed her eyes. She chuckled sarcastically.

"Will it work?" Zuko said, starting to open the can.

Toph nodded and grinned widely. "Yo, Sugar Queen, come here. I saw something interesting on that corner of the shack."

Katara raised her eyebrow and followed her. Once they reached the place, she snapped her head up. "Wait a second, Toph, you won't see anything interesting, you're blind!"

Toph snickered. "Yeah, but it doesn't mean I can't have some fun." She pointed at Zuko, who was opening the soda can and…

SPLASH!

Zuko was sprayed with purple soda. He glared at the pale girl, who was laughing. Katara laughed lightly as she pointed at the soaked prince.

Just then, Suki and Aang came in with a bunch of leaves. Toph immediately set the stools down.

"Hey guys, what's…" Aang stopped to look at Zuko.

"Uh… That's a nice look for you, Li." He grinned sheepishly.

Suki giggled.

"Purple is definitely your color." Toph said.

Suki nodded.

Zuko breathed out steam, but Katara caught their attention before he was exposed.

"Hey guys! What took you so long?" she waved nervously.

"Well, we needed to hide from Pakku and the janitor." Aang said preparing a leaf mat.

"Anyway, what did you guys do while we were gone?"

Toph shrugged. "Oh you know, a little talk here, a little prank there." She pointed at Zuko.

"This isn't funny!" Zuko said, blushing.

Katara crossed her arms and smirked. "Actually, it's pretty entertaining."

Zuko glared. "Could you just get this stuff off me?"

Katara put her hand on her chin. "Hm… Well, I would, if you say _please_ first." She smirked.

Suki giggled. Aang and Toph snickered as they sat next to each other on the mat.

Zuko glared. "Over my dead body."

Katara shrugged and turned around. "Okay then, suit yourself." She didn't realize it, but she swayed her hips.

Zuko's eyes widened. Damn this peasant. "Fine." He said sitting down next to her. "Then you don't mind if I do this." He shook his head violently, sending drops of purple soda all over to the place, well, all over Katara.

She ran a hand over her face and wiped it off, revealing a piercing glare. "Of course not, Zuko. As long as you don't mind this." She bended the water off of her and his hair, then she threw it at his, well, Sokka's shirt.

Zuko glared. "You asked for it, peasant." He tackled her.

"HEY!" she was pinned to the ground. "Get off of me, you jerk!" she said pushing him.

Zuko was glaring.

Aang was panicking.

Suki had her hand on her mouth.

Toph kicked back and relaxed as she took another can from her bag.

"Toph!" Aang said shaking her shoulders. "Do something!"

Toph shook the can in her hand and aimed it at Aang. "Let go of my shoulders and step away from the soda." she warned.

Aang let go of her, scared, and took 3 steps backward.

"Okay, now what?" he said, putting his hands in the air like he was under arrest.

"Now," Toph said as she smirked, "Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. Live a little, Twinkle Toes." She threw him the can and took another from her bag.

Aang caught it and sat next to her. "Alright, but if one of them winds up in the hospital we aren't gonna be held responsible."

Toph shrugged.

"Hey Toph," he asked. "How many cans do you have in there exactly?"

Toph grinned widely. "It's a secret."

Aang gulped and looked at his own soda can.

"Hey guys," Suki said, taking her hand off her mouth and her eyes off the two who were practically killing each other. "Did she just call him Zuko?"

Toph clutched her soda and spilled it with big eyes. Aang opened the can and got sprayed.

The two stopped. Katara was winning. She was on top of Zuko. "Aww, isn't that sweet? You know, because of the soda?" she laughed at her own joke.

Zuko gave her a weird look. "Uhuh…"

Toph rolled her eyes. "And to think Sokka's your brother."

"Guys!" Suki said impatiently. "Please answer my question!"

The three gulped. Aang licked his face. "Mmm, this is really good purple soda!"

"Uh," Katara said, getting off of Zuko. "I did?"

Zuko sat up and took his shirt off. Katara's eye twitched. "She did?"

Toph chuckled nervously. "Hehe, uh, yeah. Well, sugar queen must be delirious, I mean, she just took down 2 seniors."

Suki raised her brow. She was suspicious. What were they keeping from her?

"Yeah," Zuko commented, squeezing the liquid out of the shirt. "It was impressive, you know, for a…"

Katara glared. "Do. Not. Finish. That. Sentence."

Zuko pulled the shirt back on.

"I have to say, Katara, that was something you said to those girls!" Aang said, opening a veggie bun.

Toph nodded. "Yeah, nice going," she approved.

"That will teach _them_ to spread nasty rumors!" Katara said proudly.

The three suddenly zipped their mouths. Katara and Zuko raised their eyebrows.

"Um, Katara…" Aang started.

Katara shifted her gaze. "Yes, Aang?"

"It wasn't them who started the rumors." Suki continued.

Katara threw her head back and she lowered her eyebrows. "Really, then who?"

They gulped.

"Come on guys, I can handle it! Didn't you see what I did back there?"

Zuko put his hand on her shoulder. He was catching on. Whatever it is they're hiding, it's for her own good. She didn't mind him.

"You really wanna know, Katara?" Toph said, sighing.

"Yes, Toph." Katara rolled her ocean blue eyes. "_I really wanna know_."

"You sure?" Aang tried.

Katara lazed her eyes at Aang. "Yes, Aang, _I'm sure_."

"Katara." Zuko said with a low voice. He shook his head. _They're doing you a favor, I swear_, were the words he wanted to say, but it was caught in his throat.

Katara looked at him. "What?"

Suki sighed. "You see, Katara, the person who spread those nasty rumors were…"

She shifted her gaze to her best friend in curiosity.

Her lips moved gently but the word struck Katara like a piercing dagger.

"Jet."

* * *

Wow, that was a cliffhanger… okay, this is probably the worst day for Katara, and it isn't even half over yet! And can you believe I wrote 6 chapters on it? And there's more coming up ahead.

I promise things will speed up if you think it's slow…

Wait, do you think it's slow? Perhaps I'm too fast? I'm sorry! I really have no idea!

Why don't you tell it in your review? Pretty please!

kalyn19


	9. Chapter 9

(10/05/08)Oh my God, it's been 1 whole week and I haven't updated any of my stories because we have no internet… so I'm typing this now… did I mention I'm almost finished with the whole story?!

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 9

"Katara." Zuko said with a low voice. He shook his head. _They're doing you a favor, I swear_, were the words he wanted to say, but it was caught in his throat.

Katara looked at him. "What?"

Suki sighed. "You see, Katara, the person who spread those nasty rumors were…"

She shifted her gaze to her best friend in curiosity.

Her lips moved gently but the word struck Katara like a piercing dagger.

"Jet."

Katara's eyes widened. She couldn't breathe.

Zuko, Toph and Aang looked down.

"I'm sorry Katara." Suki said as she lowered her head as well.

Katara was still in a daze. What? Jet? It just didn't make sense to her. Suki and the others warned her that he was a jerk, but she didn't think that he would sink this low. It's not like they were together-together. Whenever Jet would flirt with somebody, she just turned her head. But just one day and already… this?

Her heart was in her throat as tears fell freely on her chestnut cheeks. Her lips were trembling and she fell backwards.

Zuko caught her and set her down kneeling on the floor. Then he did what he didn't think he'd do in a million lifetimes…

He hugged her tightly. He spoke no words. When this happened to him, he had no one but his uncle to comfort him. He knew how she felt.

Katara sniffled. She needed the comfort right now, no matter how awkward. She leaned into him. She touched his arms and whispered. "I… just… don't get… it. Am I that gullible? That blinded?"

"No, no, no," Suki said, kneeling next to her friend.

"He was just too much a jerk." Toph spat. She crossed her arms as she approached her.

"Besides," Aang continued. "he got what was coming to him. To think he lost _you_." He pulled a cheesy smile.

Katara smiled. "Thanks guys." She cried again. Her tears fell on Zuko's arms and, as much as he wanted to, he didn't complain.

"So, Katara," Toph smirked. "How do you plan to take revenge on Jet the Jerk?"

Katara shook her head slowly. "I don't think I can." After what he did to her, she didn't find the strength for payback, yet.

"Well, we can." Toph and Aang smirked.

Suki shushed the two even though she wanted to partake in said revenge scheme.

The bell rang. It was time for 5th period.

"Come on, guys! Let's go!" Suki said dusting her skirt. "We better head on to class."

"Aww… do I have to?" Toph pleaded with innocent eyes.

Aang chuckled.

"Yes, Toph, you do." Said Suki. Now she feels like the mother of these kids… "You coming Katara? We could just send you to the clinic and ask if you could go home."

Katara shook her head and stood up. Zuko let go of her.

"No thanks, Suki, as much as that sounds tempting…"

"And totally unfair for us!" Toph said suddenly.

"I think I have to go to class."

"No you're not." Zuko said suddenly, walking up to them.

Katara glared. "What? I can handle it! I can face this HEAD-ON! You said so yourself!"

"No." Zuko's voice was stern. He pulled Katara closer to whisper. "you're forgetting we have your brother to handle. We need all the time we can get."

Katara glared at him. "Fine." _I'm not ready to face Jet anyway… _She violently shook his hand off.

"On second thought, guys. I think a good day 's rest is in store for me."

"Yeah, and I'll make sure Sugar Queen gets it!" Toph said grinning and walking to her.

"Oh no you're not." Aang said, pulling her hand. "We are going to class and that's final."

Toph pouted. "Fine!"

"Besides Toph," Suki giggled. "She has her prince charming." She winked at the two.

"Hehe…" Katara giggled nervously. "Yeah…"

Zuko elbowed her. Katara glared.

"Do you want us to accompany you to the office or…"

"No thanks, Suki." Katara smiled warmly. "We'll take it from here."

Suki bowed and smiled goodbye. Toph and Aang walked away.

"Oh and Toph!" Zuko called. "If you see that Jet guy, give him a punch."

Toph grinned. "With pleasure, Sparky."

Katara glared at him. Zuko shrugged.

"What?"

"I can fight my own battles, you snotty stuck up prince."

"Believe me, I know." Zuko rolled his eyes. "That's for… earlier in the cafeteria."

Katara crossed her arms. "U-huh. Yeah, whatever." She left the shack.

"Don't get any ideas!" he spat.

"I'm not…" Katara said coolly.

Zuko ran after her. "Come back here peasant!"

- - - - - COMMERCIAL- - - - -

Aunt Wu's fortune telling

Don't wait for the volcano to erupt…

Know it 3 minutes earlier!

- - - -END COMMERCIAL- - - - -

"So, Miss Katara, this is a first. Coming home early." The nurse said, petting her cat Miyuki.

Katara sniffled and acted like she had the flu. "Yes, I'm really sorry -cough-."

"Oh you poor dear! Don't worry we'll get you a slip, isn't that right, Miyuki?"

The cat purred. Katara and Zuko looked at each other in confusion.

"And who is this handsome man with you?" she asked, turning her back to write the slip.

Katara coughed. "Handsome? More like…"

Zuko elbowed her again.

"His name is Li."

The nurse nodded. "Ah, your fiancé. You're a very lucky gal." She said handing her the slip.

"Lucky isn't the term I would like to use." Katara smiled sheepishly. "Thank you."

"No problem. And does he need a slip, too?"

Katara looked at Zuko, who was staring at a poster of the three food groups.

"Uh, yeah. Write him down for mental retarded-ness." She grinned. Zuko looked at her and glared.

"Mental retard… There you go, dear." She said handing Zuko the slip. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to feed Miyuki. Come on Miyuki!"

Zuko was about to burn the slip when Katara laughed mockingly.

"You need that to get out of school, moron." She said.

"So?" Zuko glared and burnt it to a crisp. "I can always do this." He placed her arm on his shoulder and his other arm under hers so it looks like he was supporting her. Katara struggled with a large blush.

"What are you doing? Let go of me you freak!" she said waving her hands for effect.

"No chance, peasant. This is all your fault anyway." He said walking to the gate. A smirk was on his lips. Yes! The fun was back!

Katara glared. "YOU CREPAZOID!" she shouted and caught the guard's attention.

"Quick, act sick." Zuko whispered.

Katara glared. "Believe me, I am."

Zuko lazed his eyes at her when the guard asked them for a slip.

"Oh, well, you go on right ahead, young man." The guard said and bowed. "That's so sweet of you, helping your girlfriend."

Zuko and Katara rolled their eyes as they passed him. "More like nauseating…"

A cab rolled up the sidewalk. Zuko let Katara down, almost threw her down, and opened the door.

"Peasants first." He smirked.

Katara gave him a mock sweetness. "Aww, you're such a gentle-jerk." Then she entered the cab.

Zuko sighed in frustration as he entered as well.

"Where to, lovely couple?" the driver said as he viewed from the mirror.

"Um, 15 Mint Ave. please." She said kindly.

"Take us to the mall instead." He said, putting his hands on his pockets.

Katara looked at him. "What? Are you crazy? I don't have that kind of fare money!"

Zuko looked at her in disbelief. "Who said anything about using your money?"

Katara glared at him. "Good. Cause I wasn't planning on spending my allowance for a snotty stuck up prince." She said.

The driver chuckled a low heartly voice.

"I was planning on buying you something, but why would I waste my allowance on a peasant." He mumbled.

Katara looked at him. "Really? You were gonna buy me anything I want?" her eyes shimmering.

"Yeah, were." He shrugged and looked out the window.

Katara gaped. "No! I was kidding, see? Haha! Come on, you have… what? 10 grand on you?"

Zuko looked at her. "You're kidding right? I don't carry change like that."

Katara stared at him. She clenched his collar and stared at him like a murderer. "YOU BUY ME SOMETHING YOU _SELF ABSORBED __PUNK_ OR I WILL CALL THE MEDIA ON YOU!" she pulled out her phone.

Zuko glared. "Fine," he spat. "I need to get rid of that cellphone." He mumbled.

Katara smirked. "Then how will Iroh call you?"

Zuko's eyes widened. "Why do you have to be such a smart peasant?"

Katara shrugged. "Why do you have to be such a self absorbed snotty overlord?"

Zuko slumped. "Just shut up, peasant." He looked out the window. It was traffic.

Katara's eye twitched as she crossed her arms and loudly sat back. "I will if you just shut your trap."

Zuko didn't speak.

Katara smirked. "Good." She looked at what Zuko was looking at:

The Electronics store's TVs were broadcasting a showbiz news:

_Breaking News from Hollywood by Cabbage G. Man, Cabbage?_

"_Yes, it seems that Prince Zuko has gone missing, along with his manager and uncle, Iroh. No current news on their whereabouts but it seems that they were last spotted in…" he looked at his notes… "along Min Ave. by "Anonymous." Meanwhile, his father, Ozai, head of the Flame Company, has a 10,000 ransom on whoever gets his son back. That is all for now."_

Zuko and Katara looked at each other in horror. "Oh no."

* * *

Wow, cliffhanger!

So, who is this Mister anonymous? And now that the secret's out of Zuko's dissapearance, what will happen next?

I just hope Iroh contacts them soon.

Please Review and Thanks for reading!

kalyn19


	10. Chapter 10

Hello guys! And so the cliffhanger brought 3 reviews! I'm not complaining! I love you guys!

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA, so sue me, oh wait you can't!

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 10

_Oh no._

The two stared out the window long after the car passed the store. They were dazed. What could they do now? The world has a clue on where they are. They were bound to know sooner or later, right? But why, for Hei Bai's sake, can't it be later?

Finally, they slumped down on their chairs. Each murmured a word.

Zuko said "Tui" while Katara said "La."

An exhale was heard in the silent cab.

"What do we do now?" Katara said hopelessly. It was like the fight was knocked out of her.

Zuko shrugged but kept a stern face. He was glaring at the front seat like he wanted to burn it.

"The paparazzi is on to us." Katara spoke again. "Who knows what they'll do next. We might never get to go back home without a pack of rabid fan girls after us. They know where we live."

"They don't know that for sure." The driver spoke, which made the two jump.

Katara winced. She talked too much.

"Why do you care?" Zuko spat at the driver. His cap was blocking the prince's view on his face.

Katara glared at him. "I'm sorry. He woke up on the wrong side of the closet today." She said softly, but still mock in her voice directed at Zuko.

The driver chuckled. "Quite a lover's quarrel last night?"

Katara blushed. "No! He was being… air headed!"

Zuko glared at her. "Stop explaining to a stranger you peasant. Look what you got us in to."

Katara pursed her lips but glared at him.

The driver chuckled. "I see you forgot your uncle already, along with your manners."

Zuko sat up, shocked. Katara's eyes widened with the equal amount of surprise.

"Uncle?" Zuko murmured, a smile creeping on his face.

**COMMERCIAL**

-- Okay, so at this point I would like you all to know: --

Z26

While

K11

-- Just wanted to point that out… you'll see why later –

Thanks for the time!

**END COMMERCIAL**

"Uncle?"

The driver bowed. "Yes, nephew?"

"Iroh!" Katara jumped. "I'm so glad you're here! Wait, weren't you supposed to call me?" she narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

As soon as they approached a red light, he looked back at the two teens. A sheepish smile glowing.

"Uh… you see, halfway down the wall it came to me. I didn't have your number."

Katara slapped her forehead. Zuko smirked.

"Can I burn your cell phone now?"

Katara glared. "Not. A. Word." Wait, did he just… ask permission to do something? Who is he and what did he do to Zuko?

The light changed to green and he looked back at the road. "We mustn't talk here. I hope you don't mind a little detour, Miss Katara."

Katara shook her head. "It's fine. As long as that detour is throwing Zuko in a ditch."

Zuko glared. "Right after we feed you to rabid hog monkeys." He mumbled.

_That was… childish? But closer to the snotty stuck up prince I know and… hate. Yeah, hate._

"Where are we going, uncle?" he asked.

"We are headed to our new apartment, junior." He failed to muzzle a snicker.

Katara chuckled. "Junior?"

"I finished our documents. From now on, you will be called Li or in our family, Junior."

Katara and Zuko nodded.

"And what's your name, Iroh?" Katara asked gamingly.

"I hope it's something embarrassing, like Mushi." Zuko mumbled as he crossed his arms.

Iroh smiled sheepishly. "Precisely."

Katara and Zuko chuckled. After 5 minutes…

"Wait, why Mushi?" Katara said suddenly.

"It's what little Zuko called me when he was 4."

Katara's eyes widened as she shifted her gaze to Zuko. "Mushy? Seriously?"

Zuko glared. "I was 4. Get over it, peasant."

Katara smirked. "I'm just glad I don't have any 'codename' or whatever."

"Actually…"

"No. Way." Katara warned, her voice dangerously low.

Iroh chuckled. "I was just kidding, my dear."

"Yeah, why bother, you're just a peasant." Zuko muttered.

Katara glared. "I hate you with every cell in my body, you know that?"

Zuko shrugged. "The feeling is mutual."

The cab pulled over. Zuko and Katara looked out the window.

They stopped in front of a gorgeous 7 storey building. The walls were painted light green and the windows were clear luminescent glass that reflected the beautiful afternoon sky above the calm serene sea.

"Wow" was all Katara murmured.

Iroh stepped out of the car and opened the door. "Come. We have no time to lose. We have a lot of things to talk about."

Zuko nodded and stepped out of the car, leaving Katara to stare at the building.

"Hey peasant." He called.

Katara shifted out of her daze and glared at him. "I'm coming, you dodo bird."

She stepped on his foot as she exited the cab, which made Zuko glare at her.

"Oops." She said coyly.

Zuko clenched his fists.

They stepped in front of the doors. They slid open, revealing a very classy hotel. But it wasn't a hotel, it was a condominium.

Would Katara love to live here.

"So, uncle, when did you get your driver's license back?" Zuko asked, remembering the cab trip that happened moments ago.

Iroh blinked suddenly. "Uh… well…" he glanced around for a change of subject. "That's a very nice logo on your shirt, nephew."

Zuko remembered the "Never underestimate the power of a smile" logo on the shirt. He crossed his arms to hide it. "Don't remind me."

Katara smiled as she was temporarily brought back to reality. Earlier she was, and still is, awestruck by how beautiful the building is. "He never followed it, though, I bet he can't read it."

"I can." Zuko defensively added. "But I refuse to follow an inanimate object."

Katara nodded. "U-huh. Yeah. You have the right to your opinion and I have the right to think you're stupid."

Zuko glared.

They stopped in front of the elevator, whose doors bear the logo of a winged boar. The symbol looked familiar to Katara, but she can't quite put her finger on it.

They entered it and Iroh pressed the top floor. Katara raised her eyebrow.

"You took a unit on the top floor?"

Iroh nodded. "It has a splendid view on the sunset. Zuko will show you what I mean later."

Zuko looked at him with the same reaction as Katara. "I will?"

"He will?"

Iroh chuckled to himself.

The doors slid open and Iroh exited, followed by the two teens who were glaring at each other.

"Ah, young love." He sighed to himself.

Zuko and Katara shifted their glares at him.

Iroh backed down with a sheepish grin. He led them to room 2611-A. He opened the door to reveal a wonderfully decorated living room. The furniture was a dark shade of red, surrounding a glass coffee table. Or in Iroh's case, a tea table.

Zuko stalked towards the sofa and dropped his weight.

Katara looked around, still amazed. "Nice place you've got here, Iroh."

"Please…" Iroh bowed. "You can call me Uncle."

Zuko's head shot up. "She can?"

Katara gave him a weird look. "I can?"

Iroh nodded. "But only if you want to."

Katara nodded. "Thanks, I'll think about it."

"No you won't." Zuko warned. "Only I can call him uncle."

Katara glared. "Aren't you gonna even acknowledge your uncle on how great this place is?"

Zuko looked around with lazed eyes and shrugged. "It's better than your hut."

Katara gaped. "Excuse me? The only thing you saw there was the living room closet!"

"And it was small."

"Yeah!" Katara snorted. "It's a mystery how your large ego fit."

Zuko glared. "How did your big mouth get through the door again?"

Katara sighed in frustration. She looked around for water. She was gonna freeze this jerk to a wall.

"Enough." Iroh said calmly, yet demanding. That made the two teens jump and look at him.

"Now will you two please sit down and wait for me as I fetch us some tea? Afterwards, we can talk about the matter at hand."

"I'll help." Katara offered.

"No thank you." Iroh smiled. "You have helped far too much already. You don't know how grateful we are to have found such a kind person as you."

Zuko snorted. "Speak for yourself."

Iroh shot him a look. "Nephew, mind your manners. Thank Miss Katara for helping you."

Katara beamed with pride as she put her hands on her hips. "Well?"

Zuko's eye twitched. He hated her pose. Blame it on hormones. "Thank you." He spat.

Katara smiled widely. That'll do. "You're welcome."

Iroh chuckled. "Well, I better head to the kitchen. Let's brew some tea!" he exclaimed as he ran to the kitchen.

Katara blinked. Zuko sighed.

"He gets like that when it comes to tea." Zuko supplied as if he knew what Katara was thinking.

Katara nodded slowly and sat down on the couch, a few cushions away from Zuko.

Awkward silence…

Katara looked at her watch. It read 5:14. She better get back home before 6. So what? It's not like anybody's home to ground her. The feeling made her stomach churn.

Zuko made a quick glance at her. She looked uncomfortable. She lifted her head to look at him and he instantly turned away.

What was taking Iroh so long?

Katara sighed. Zuko looked at her. She parted her lips to say something, and closed them again. Then she sighed. This happened for 3 minutes…

"Will you stop that?" Zuko finally exclaimed, annoyed.

Katara looked at him. "Stop what?" she asked innocently.

Just then, Iroh came out, holding a tray containing a green tea pot and 3 tea cups with the same design.

"What took you so long, uncle?" Zuko said, failing to hide his irritation.

Iroh shot him a blink. "You can't rush perfection, Zuko."

Katara giggled. "I'm guessing this is very fine tea."

"The finest in the land!" Iroh boasted joyfully. He set down the tray on the table and sat on the easy chair.

"Now, let's talk about this issue we have." He said pouring tea in the three cups.

Katara took one and smelled the steam. A "Mmh…" escaped her lips as she sighed. She blew the steam away. "Well, we have the paparazzi on our tail from now on, so it's not that easy to hide."

Zuko nodded. "But first we have to find out who 'anonymous' is. He has a clue on or whereabouts and he told the media."

Katara looked up. "But who is it?"

Iroh sipped his tea and readied to talk when Zuko spoke.

"It could be that jerk, Jet." He shrugged.

Katara glared at him. Way to bring up a painful subject. "He could've done it, but he's not that smart."

Zuko nodded. "What about you're loud mouth friend?"

Once again, Iroh tried to speak when…

"What?!" Okay, why is he blaming people on Katara's side? It could have been anyone, but he chose to suspect the people who have a relation to Katara.

"Toph won't do that."

"How do you know for sure?"

"Because, you jerk of a prince, she knows how to blackmail. She knows how to hold something against someone to get what she wants. Besides…"

Zuko leaned in.

"SHE'S BLIND FOR AGNI'S SAKE!" Katara yelled in his ear.

Zuko threw back in surprise and rubbed his ear. "You don't need to shout, peasant!"

"And you don't need to suspect every single person I know!" she shouted.

"ENOUGH!" Iroh shouted. Katara and Zuko sat back quickly to their seats.

Iroh switched his glance from his nephew to the confused teen.

"Do you two argue like this every time to fail seeing that the answer is right in front of you?!"

Katara gulped. Zuko sighed. "Sorry." They both muttered.

A few moments of silence… then the words sunk in…

Katara and Zuko swiftly looked at Iroh with shocked expressions. "What?!"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

Oh, cliffhanger again! Not the person you expected, huh?

Review please? Thanks for reading!

Iroh, you've got some explaining to do!

kalyn19


	11. Chapter 11

Okay guys! So that was a bit of a shock, wasn't it? Nobody even expected Iroh?

Really?

Well, thanks anyways for the kind and encouraging words from the reviews! It helps!

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 11

"_What?!"  
_

Katara stood up from the couch, grudgingly approached the old man, placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. She quirked up an eyebrow.

Zuko stalked beside her, cornering his uncle. He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at him as well.

Iroh calmly sipped his tea. He closed his eyes to savor the taste, or was it to avoid the two teenagers' glares?

"Uncle." Zuko said dangerously low.

Katara followed, "You've got some 'splainin' to do." She copied the accent of one actress on a TV show she and Sokka used to watch.

Zuko raised an eyebrow and swiftly glanced at her. She looked deranged. Beautiful, but deranged.

He placed his tea cup down slowly, as if having a dramatic pause. He looked up at them with innocent eyes.

Katara tapped her foot impatiently. "Well?"

Iroh nodded. He motioned for them to take their seats. They hesitantly did so.

After having a deep breath, he calmly explained.

10 minutes later…

"Wait, wait, wait, wait.." Katara said waving her hands in front of her.

"Let me get this straight, _you_…" she pointed at Iroh

"told the paparazzi" she pointed at the TV

"where Zuko…" she pointed at said singer

"where…" she circled her fingers…

"WE WERE SECRETLY HIDING HIM?!" she exploded, throwing her clenched fists in the air.

Zuko nearly fell off his chair. Iroh blinked innocently.

"ON PURPOSE?!" Katara trailed back.

Iroh nodded with big eyes as Zuko tried to steady himself on the chair.

"Stop shouting before you wake up the neighbors!" Zuko demanded.

Iroh was about to speak when…

"Don't tell me what to do! You shut up!" Katara glared at Zuko.

They stood up, glaring at each other fiercely.

"Could you both just please lower your voices," Iroh paused to lift his tea cup. "sit down, take a tea cup," he smelled the aroma. "and calm down."

Katara's eyes twitched. "Both? I'm COMPLETELY CALM!" she snapped at him.

"I don't need calming tea, uncle!" Zuko snapped.

Iroh leaned back in his seat.

Zuko huffed steam. "This is ridiculous! Uncle, you better have a good reason why you did that."

"Oh I do, nephew." Iroh smiled.

"Good." Katara said. She was subconsciously gripping her water canteen. "Then kindly give us the reason." Who knew such gorgeous ocean blue eyes could look so deadly?

Zuko looked at her and took 2 steps away.

"I would be delighted to." He smiled and raised his hand. "As soon as you gently surrender any liquid you possess."

Katara grunted and handed him the canteen. "Here."

Iroh took it and threw it over his shoulder quickly. He held out his hand again.

Katara sighed and gave him the vile she keeps in the hidden pocket of her tote.

"Hold on a minute. How did you know she was a waterbender?" Zuko asked suddenly.

Katara blinked. "Yeah, how'd you—"

Iroh grinned widely. "It's quite obvious, really. Seeing as though you two get along perfectly."

Katara and Zuko gave each other a disgusted look. "What?"

Iroh chuckled. "Exactly."

Katara rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "Agni, take me now."

Zuko gazed heavenwards. "Yes, take her now."

She looked back at him with narrow eyes and glared.

Iroh smiled contently at them. "I am guessing the explanation is not necessary?"

They both shifted to him. "Of course it is!" they shouted in unison.

"It better be a good one." Katara said, more coldness than intended.

"Oh it is." Iroh nodded.

"Do you plan on telling us anytime soon?" his nephew asked, a mixture of curiosity and anger in his deep voice.

"I intend to." He nodded once more.

A few moments passed by. Iroh was sitting calmly in the easy chair, a tea cup in his hands as he switched glances with the two from time to time. Zuko was leaning down on the scarlet chair to his uncle's left, tapping his fingers impatiently on the arm of said chair. Katara was the only one standing up, waiting anxiously for the explanation. She had her hands planted on her hips as she looked around the beautiful apartment once more. Too bad it couldn't distract her all to well.

A few more moments…

"Now would be a good time." Zuko spat impatiently.

Iroh nodded. "It would be best if you sit down, Miss Katara." He suggested.

Katara waved her hand dismissively. "I'm fine."

Iroh nodded again. "Very well."

A few more moments…

"Uncle, could you tell us sometime between now and Christmas?" he yelled childishly.

"Now, now, Zuko, patience is a virtue."

"I've been patient long enough!" he argued.

Katara rubbed her temples. She's been thinking too much. "Iroh, could you please just tell us why? I'm getting kinda tired."

Iroh's head shot up. "Ah, my apologies. I remember now."

Zuko's eye twitched. "You forgot? You made us wait for how long just because you forgot? And I thought you just thought it over."

"Oh I have, Nephew. Thoroughly, I might add."

"Then could you please just tell us this well-thought-of reason of yours?" Katara impatiently snapped. All this stress was giving her a headache.

"Maybe you should lie down, here." He pulled out a key from his sleeve and handed it to her.

Katara looked at it like she hadn't seen a key before. "What is that for?"

"For your new apartment, my dear. You see, I know that living in your house down Mint Avenue would be hard as soon as the 'paparazzi' shows up. They were bound to know sooner or later. So I took the liberty of telling them, but not before I have arranged for everything we might need. That includes a new place for you to stay." He nudged to the key.

Katara's eyes were as wide as saucers. She had too many to comprehend right now. "Wait, wait, wait. You lost me. Did you say 'my new apartment'?!"

Zuko was equally surprised, though he couldn't find his voice to speak.

Iroh nodded. "It is yours. I am pretty sure it's new. And I can guarantee you that it's an apartment."

Katara blinked. Her lips parted ever so subtlety. What in Yue's good name was happening here?

**Commercial**

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Somehow, I liked the word Sophomore better…

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Ehem, anyway, by the start of the school year, I may have time to update, but when the serious stuff starts, I won't be able to type much, which explains why I have typed # chapters ahead… Just in case.

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Katara's jaw fell and she pretty much thought it hit the dark red carpet. Her mind suddenly went blank.

Zuko couldn't think as well. What was going on? Why did his uncle buy this peasant an apartment? In the same building as his? How could he afford… well… technically he can… but he just bought 2 apartments on the same day for crying out loud!

Iroh blinked.

Katara finally shook her head and closed her mouth. "What?! A new apartment? Buying me a designer handbag is one thing… but an apartment?!"

Iroh retrieved his sore arm. It was getting sore from holding the key up. He placed the key on the table. "Do not strain yourself, my dear. It was more of a necessity than anything else."

Katara was still in shock. "You can't just go on buying somebody you hardly know an apartment!"

"I can. Do you truly believe I did not do this with the best interest at heart?"

Katara stopped. "But…"

"It is fine." Iroh reassured.

"No it's not." Zuko butt-ed in. "Uncle, you must have spent a fortune on buying two apartments."

"I did not buy them. I simply rented them, well, for the meantime anyway. Don't you think this place is just delightful?" he looked around in happiness.

Katara looked around as well. Wow. "Is my apartment anything like this one?"

"Oh yes. Only everything is not red like here."

She gave him a quirked eyebrow. "What color then?"

Iroh smiled. "Why, blue of course."

Katara's face lit up as a genuine smile crossed her lips. Yes! Blue! "Really?"

He nodded. "I found all these pieces of furniture in a sale. Turns out they had the exact same thing in blue! A great deal, if I do say so myself"

Katara was still smiling. She was in her own world of amazement again. A new apartment. A brand new top class apartment with high-class furniture in BLUE! Oh she definitely would love to live here!

Thunder clap.

Live here… Meaning, she had to move out of her house. Her home. The same home her parents raised her. The same house she and her brother played and grew up in. The same house they spent Christmas, New Year, April Fools and what not. She had to let go of that to live here.

The smile disappeared on Katara's lips. For once, can't reality just stop ruining the moments?

She shook it off for the mean time, urging herself to forget about it for a while. It doesn't necessarily mean she has to move out of there. She would just be temporarily moving… no… staying in a new apartment, which by the way still makes her swoon. It doesn't mean she has to leave that all behind. She smiled to herself and breathed out. Yeah, it's just temporary. She pushed her thoughts at the back of her head.

"Where did you get the money?" Zuko asked suddenly.

That shook Katara back to earth.

He looked at his nephew. "I have a great deal of investments and such. Don't worry, nephew. We are financially secure."

He nodded. "But, how come you spent our money so…"

"I only bought what is necessary, Zuko." He reassured.

Zuko looked over at the table, lifted the ridiculously grinning monkey with red gems for eyes. "You call this necessary?"

Katara looked over at it and stared. She tilted her head slightly, raising an eyebrow. It was, in a disturbing way, mesmerizing.

Iroh copied the grin on the wooden monkey's face. "It came with a great bargain."

Zuko slapped his forehead. "Uncle! We don't have people to care for our stuff anymore! We don't even have servants!" he whined.

Katara looked up at him from the monkey. "Servants? Lazy much?"

Zuko glared at her.

"Ah yes, Zuko was treated like a prince. He had servants who took care of him. They practically raised him before I came into the picture."

"Oh." Katara nodded. So she _was_ right about the prince part. Then once again she was captured by the monkey's eyes.

Zuko was disturbed on how Katara leaned in. So, he quickly placed the monkey back.

Katara raised her eyes to glare at him coldly. "That was rude."

"So is staring." He snapped. "I remember a prickly peasant say that to me earlier this morning."

Katara scrunched up her nose and crossed her arms. She turned to Iroh after she released a huff in Zuko's direction.

"But Iroh, I already have a house to live in." she finally said. She tried hard not to let her thoughts surface.

"Yes, but if you ask me it's a little big for one person. It worries me to think that you live there alone."

A part of her took it as an insult. _Was he just saying how empty my home is?_ She quickly pushed it back in the little box in her mind labeled "immaturity". Katara smiled at his concern. "Oh I'm not always alone. Just recently I have added a pain in the neck." She thumbed over at Zuko. She sounded reassuring when she said, "And besides, my brother Sokka is coming home to visit…"

Katara and Zuko's eyes widened suddenly. They forgot the one reason they left school early in the first place.

She repeated her statement earlier, but this time in panic. "My brother Sokka is coming home to visit in two days!"

"How delightful!" Iroh beamed.

"It won't be when he finds out the whole school thinks we're engaged!" Zuko panicked as well. Wait, why did he care again? Oh right… he has to go there now. He cooled down faster than water in subzero temperature.

"Oh my. Have I been gone that long?" Iroh gasped. "I didn't know you two were that serious. I've only been gone a day and now…"

Zuko and Katara's jaw dropped in disgust. "What?!"

"No!" Katara defended. "It was just a cover up that got _way_ out of hand."

Iroh nodded. "So you see why lying is a bad thing, nephew? It will get you into trouble."

Zuko glared. "And telling the truth won't?"

He blinked. "Point taken."

"Thank you." Katara sighed. "Now what do we do about Sokka?"

Iroh placed a finger on his chin. "Why don't you invite him to your new apartment?"

Katara was taken aback. The lock in the box broke. "And what is wrong with my old house?"

"The fact that it's old." Zuko interjected.

"What!" She gaped. "For your information, that house is my home! I grew up there!"

Iroh sensed that she was hurt. "We didn't mean any insult, Ms. Katara. It was just a suggestion."

"Yeah." Katara snapped. "Just like how you 'suggested' me to hide your hogmonkey of a nephew and how you 'suggested' that I live in the same condominium as him."

Zuko and Iroh were taken aback at her anger.

She swept the key from the table and stomped her way out of their apartment. She slammed the door with more force than necessary.

Iroh blinked. "What did the poor door ever do to her?"

Zuko slapped his forehead.

* * *

Uh-oh. How could they forget about that? So now, there's more things on the "Explain to Sokka" list:

1: Who is this snotty stuck up prince like snob?

2: Why is she not wearing their mother's necklace?

3: Why the hell is she engaged to the snotty stuck up prince like snob?

4: Why does she have a new apartment?

5: What on God's green earth did she get herself into?!

Well, tune in for the next chapter, guys! Please review! I'm review deprived, PLEASE!

kalyn19


	12. Chapter 12

Hello readers! This is a chapter about Katara reminiscing about her past, before Zuko showed up. Mostly angst, loneliness and a dash of humor here and there.

I hope you guys like it. Thanks!

Not much reviews last chapter... aww! Anyway, please review, or did you guys leave this story already?

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA.

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 12

Trip Down Memory Lane

She didn't need this. This chaotic mess of a problem.

She marched down the hall towards the elevator. She didn't even mind the flying boar symbol when she pushed the elevator door with enough force to dislocate her thumb.

_Why couldn't life just be simple? Why couldn't I just get back to being the happy-go-lucky-yet-responsible-and-sensible type? No, why couldn't I just be the girl before that? The one that had an actual family to grow up with? The one that was, although forced to be, the mother figure of the house? The one that cooked and cleaned and… did the laundry… I even miss Sokka's smelly dirty socks._

She blinked and scrunched up her nose. Okay, she didn't know she missed her old life that much. She looked at the number embossed in the key: 1126. It was on the floor in the middle of the condominium. The doors slid open and she searched for her apartment.

_But ever since my dad, Hakoda, went on as a sea man with his friend Bato and left home, things changed. He would rarely be there on special occasions. Well, minor special occasions. He would always be there for Christmas, New Year, Birthdays, and such. He wasn't there for my debates, decathalons, academic contests I have trophies for. Though he would send me flowers and congratulations, it still didn't fill the reserved seat on the school assembly hall._

She finally found the apartment and pushed the key in. She entered it and slammed the door behind her. Tears blurred her vision but she continued to roam around the beautifully decorated apartment.

And she wasn't the only one that felt the void.

_Sokka would often sulk in a corner after every gig for a while, whispering "I sure wish dad was here to see this." _She sighed. _All I could do then was hug my brother and tell him how proud I am and how cool I think he is… even though I know his head will inflate like a rubber balloon the next minute. _She giggled to herself._ All I knew then was that no matter what, I would always try to make him happy, even though at times I bug him like hell just for the knack of it. _Bottom line is, she knew how important the gigs were to Sokka, no matter how small._ It mattered to him. And that is just fine with me._

Her body stiffened as she gave a deep sigh. She found the glass door to the balcony. She opened it carefully and looked at the view. She was breathless to see that her apartment was just in front of the view they saw earlier. She guessed Iroh picked this one especially for her. But that still didn't ease her thoughts.

_Well, __**was **__fine with me._ She played with her fingers, trying to convince herself that she thought otherwise. _Sokka formed 'bOomerang' when he was 14. At that time, I was 12. That's when I met Jet, who approached Sokka and asked him if he could join the band. Boy was he hesitant at first, but thanks to a little persuasion from yours truly, I eventually got him to give him a try. Though it didn't come cheap. I remember Dad's face when he saw the grocery bill that stated I bought a ton of ingredients to make cookies. He thought I fed the whole block. _A calm smile came to her again._ The things I do for that boy. _

The smile quickly disappeared when her thoughts sunk into her.

_Which boy, Sokka or Jet_? Her eyes swelled up but she suck it in, commanding herself not to cry. Not another tear for that jerk!_ It had to be for Sokka, _she convinced herself._ It had to be. The reason? One word, Jet. Turns out he only joined the band so he could be popular. But what really happened was that he wanted to outshine Sokka. Being the vocalist of the band sure had some plus points for him. But that still didn't take the attention off Sokka. Jet thought that since he was just the guitarist, he made more points than him. But those 'points' don't come close to Sokka's golden heart. And having that goofy attitude helped a bunch._

She lifted her chin high in triumph. _Sooner or later, Sokka found out his true colors… though it did take Suki to paint a billboard. _She blinked._ I didn't give Jet away. I was too chicken to. I wonder if it was because I liked him or because I'm the one that forced Sokka to let him join. Maybe it's just my pride_. She nodded to reassure herself of that. _Thankfully, no blood was spilled, well, none if you don't count the blood that came out of Jet's lip when Sokka punched him. He deserved it. He was badmouthing Suki. In __**my brother's**__ presence. Not such a smart move…_

_The ended up with no vocalist. And it took Sokka 10 minutes before the show to realize it._

_Eventually Suki volunteered…_

…_me to sing…_

She smiled a genuine smile at the memory._ It was fun, but I never had to do it again. I turned my brother's offer down to become permanent. Besides, music is his thing, not mine. I was still fine with it at that time._

_A few weeks after they found a new vocalist, they finally got their big break at the Cactus Shack, a small café at the middle of town, and was sent to Hollywood._

_That I was NOT fine with._

_He went to Hollywood so often he decided to move there, leaving me all alone in town. _

She sniffed a little. She was not going to cry over her brother. Her annoying sarcastic sexist goofy clumsy… chattering hogmonkey of a brother.

_Okay, so maybe I miss the snowy days…_

A tear ran down her cheek. She remembered one winter in their family's cottage. That was the happiest day of her life.

But it just had to change, didn't it? The spirits had to mess up her life. It was bad enough she had absentee parents, but her brother just had to move to Hollywood!

_Okay, so maybe he did deserve that big break. After all, ever since he was 13, he took over the responsibility as the man of the house, even if his voice still cracks… He was the one that took care of me, not that I needed to be taken care of. He set aside everything for me. After a while, I gave him a little space for his own life, taking over his responsibility. _

_Who knew that space could encourage him to leave me all alone?_

She sniffled.

_Well, not all alone. I have Suki, now my best friend. She used to be Sokka's best friend before he left, but that led us to be really close. We started to be all sister like, then ended up being the best of friends. All because of Sokka. It really is a funny thing, their story. It all started in an unplanned trip to Kyoshi Camp a few more years back. But that's a story for a different day. It just reminded me that Suki was constantly gone for a period of weeks. I would always have to deal with being alone during the weekends. Okay, not a good example._

_But what about Toph and Aang? Yeah! They were always there! They are the best set of friends you can have. Well, first there was only Aang. We met when I was 11. At first, Sokka didn't like him. He ruined his so called 'club house' the first time we met. He is a sweet kid who always looked out for me. I even recalled the time when I was 12, when Aang had a crush on me._ She blushed at the thought.

_Then he met Toph. She moved into town 4 years ago, although it was hard to figure out how an 11 year old girl came here alone. Without her parents. Hmm, come to think of it, I never really met Toph's parents. Neither did Suki, or Sokka, nor Aang for that matter. Oh, and I even wouldn't count the fact that Toph's blind. It was rather a strong point than any other, much to Sokka's humiliation... and to our amusement._

_Actually, I don't get to spend that much time with the two of them. They are mostly by themselves, in their own little world. How'd those two get so close, anyways? _A smirk was brought about on her lips_. They'd make a cute couple._

_Wait, didn't Toph like Sokka first? _She recalled the time Sokka asked Suki to be his valentine, and Toph ended up giving hers to Aang instead.

She laughed hard, but felt sympathy for Toph. Jet also asked somebody else to be his valentine, and she ended up giving it to Aang as well. That was the weirdest valentine of their lives.

_I remember Sokka renting a 'James Bond' outfit… to a Hawaiian theme dance…_

After much calming down with closed eyes, she sighed.

Running it all over her head, she came to a realization. It all started with her dad, Hakoda. _If he hadn't left, then Sokka wouldn't have tried so hard to pursue his band. Well, he would've but he wouldn't have left me all alone! And what was __his__ reason for leaving us?_

A painful wave ran through her heart.

_Mom._

It all came back to her.

She lost her mother in a terrible incident at sea. They were ambushed by a foreign ship. Only 10 out of the 42 passengers were taken. One of them was her mother. They grieved for months. Katara would always cry as she hugged her mother's pillow. Sokka would be hugging her and rocking her to sleep, occasionally allowing a tear drop to pass through his chestnut cheeks. Hakoda had locked himself in the bedroom after he gave Katara the pillow. He didn't come out of days. Whenever Katara and Sokka would pass by, they would hear him wailing.

_Maybe… maybe he wanted to leave. Maybe he thought that if he spent longer time in the sea it would get him closer to Mom… maybe that's why…_

The balcony door slid open and revealed Zuko. Katara's eyes widened.

"How'd you—"

"Emergency key." He brought it out of his pocket in defense. He shot her a look. "Why are you crying?"

Katara's hand flew to her damp cheek. She was crying? She didn't even notice. She quickly turned away and hid her face. "It's none of your business, go away." She walked to the railing and gripped it tightly. _Not right now… please._

Zuko's eyebrows met. "Fine. I knew I shouldn't have come here anyway." He spat.

Katara grimaced. He was mad.

"And don't get any ideas." He spoke with rage. "I didn't come down here to check on you." Not entirely true. He knew he was lying to himself. "I came because Uncle told me to."

Katara breathed out slowly. What was he trying to do? Make her understand that she meant so little she shouldn't even be cared about? A tear caught her off guard. After all, she just happened to be the only girl that was immune to his charms. And it just so happens that she had the heart to help, though Spirits alone knows why.

He heard her sniffle. He looked down. He was still angry… but why did he feel sorry? No, that's not going to work. He tried hard to focus on his anger and swallowed hard. He had his pride to protect here. His honor.

"Why did he send you down here?" she managed to ask. "If he is trying to play Cupid then kindly tell him to forget it."

He gritted his teeth. If his Uncle did try to play Cupid, he better get used to playing Pai Sho with burnt pieces. He suddenly remembered what his uncle told him.

"Don't flatter yourself." He spat. "He sent me down here to tell you that the railings on the balcony are damaged and are due to be replaced tomorrow."

Katara instantly removed her weight and hold on the railing. "Oh."

Zuko nodded.

"Is that all?" she asked over her shoulder.

Zuko's head snapped up. "Why? Were you expecting more?" he tried not to smirk.

Katara turned to him in surprise and scoffed. "You wish."

Zuko shrugged and turned around.

Katara crossed her arms on her chest and glared at him. _Wait, did he get the wrong idea?_ "Hey, wait!"

Zuko slowly turned to her. "So you _were_ expecting more?"

Katara rolled her eyes and leaned back on the railing. "Like you said, Don't flatter yourself."

Zuko's eyes widened when he saw what she was leaning on. "Hey peasant!"

Katara threw her head back. "Here we go again! In case you haven't noticed, my name is not 'peasant' it's Ka—" Her irritated voice transformed into a scream when the railing finally gave away, causing her to fall.

"Katara!" he shouted and ran towards her. He didn't know why, but he jumped after her, grabbed her, shielded her in his arms, placed himself on the bottom, bracing himself for impact.

The next thing was a thud, black closing in, then nothing.

* * *

Ooh, what rage can do to a person. Tsk, tsk, tsk…

Anyway, another cliffhanger! So, if you want me to update faster, then please tell me in your review…

Please review… pretty please! I'm not gonna update until you guys review... :D

Thanks guys!

kalyn19


	13. Chapter 13

Hello guys! So you might have guessed what happened after they fell, right?

So, in this chapter Katara remembers more.. specific events that happened… Like that winter day in her family's cottage. And one more thing… ;)

I've bored you long enough, go on… go on, read the story, review… have fun!

(07-12-08) And now I finally have time to update! Yay!

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA… and I haven't watched the new episodes yet… well, I have… does anyone know what's after "The Boiling Rock Part II"?

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 13

"_Sokka! Come look!"_

Her eyes opened instantly. Did she just hear, her child voice? She looked over at her surroundings. Snow.

She was watching a memory. One of her favorites, actually.

"_Sokka! Come look!" Katara urged. She was mesmerized by the water in the pond, which, strange enough, wasn't frozen. It was making tiny waves. Katara would always love to pretend she can control water. It was one of the things that fascinated her._

"_Not now, Katara! I'm busy!" Sokka cried, trying the final knot to his 'watch tower'. He was building a snow fortress, well, a snow-blanket-rope fortress. At first Katara was helping, and then she got angry at him because he was getting bossy, and he ended up fixing it on his own… with a half frozen leg. "There!" he stopped and clapped his hands._

_Katara turned to him with a pout. "But Sokka! Look! I'm controlling the water!"_

"_No you're not!" Sokka taunted. "You're just a 4 year old who believes in magic!"_

_Katara stopped doing the push and pull rhythm and planted her little hands on her waist. The pond stiffened and began to freeze. "It's not magic! It's called waterbending!"_

_Sokka imitated her in a high pitched voice as he flapped his hand._

"_Besides." Katara's eye twitched. "I'm 4 and a half!"_

"_Whatever!" Sokka gave an exasperated sigh. "You can believe in your silly little magic or you can help me build a ginormous fort!" Just then, the rope untied and the blanket fell on his head._

_Her eyes twitched with irritation. "You are so obnoxious!"_

_Sokka frantically tried to remove the blanket on his head, and ended up tripping on one end. "At least I'm not a girl who believes in silly magical thingies!"_

_She clenched her fists. "You… you are the most immature person in the world!" she screamed as she threw her fists in the air. A crack was heard._

"_Immature? I'm 6 years old!" he whined. He wiggled under the blanket until his head popped out. "I have a right to be immature!"_

"_Right?" she quirked an eyebrow and threw her fists to her side. "You don't even know the difference between right and left!" she moved her hand accordingly. Two loud cracks were heard. It sounded like ice breaking… you know… glacier ice?_

"_True." He nodded. "Do you?"_

_Katara blinked. "No…"_

"_Ha!" he scoffed in an in-your-face manner._

"_That's it!" She couldn't take it anymore. She started to shout at him as she threw her fists occasionally, stomping her foot now and then. It caused the ground to shake. Well, the snow… that covered the ground. Clouds suddenly formed above their back yard as she continued on and on._

"_I may not know what left and right is…"_

"_Are…"_

"_We are not playing pirate, Sokka! Can you be serious for just one minute?"_

_His face fell. A shadow loomed over him. A shadow formed by a big wall of snow. "Um, Katara…"_

"_Please Sokka." She put a hand up. "I'm talking."_

_The snow fell 2 feet down. Sokka breathed out. "Phew… That was close."_

_Her temper grew. Her cheeks were getting redder. "Why you… I am trying to have a conversation with you, Sokka! If you would just pay attention for one second…"_

_The snow that fell 2 feet down? Rose six feet up._

_His eyes were as wide as saucers. He must be hallucinating. He rubbed his eyes with his fists and stared again. It grew another feet. "Um, e-excuse me… little sister?" Yes, his baby sister was having a tantrum. He normally wouldn't give her any attention, but then again, she didn't have a 10 foot wall of frozen water behind her then…_

_Katara scoffed. "I cannot believe you! You wouldn't even let me finish!"_

_Sokka gulped. "You just did."_

_Her eyes narrowed. "Oh so now you're a smarty pants, huh?"_

_Sokka shook his head rapidly. "Um…"_

"_You know what?" she spat. "I cannot even believe I am related to you! The storkie must have gotten the wrong house! Maybe you belong to that smelly old lady that likes penguins so much!" The wall was falling. Not on her, but towards Sokka._

_He tried to wiggle himself free and ended up being tucked in tightly. "Katara!"_

"_What?!" she screamed and finally threw her fists downward, causing the wall of snow to attack her 6 year old brother._

"_Kids, you wants some blubber jerky?" their mother called from the kitchen. She looked out the screen door and saw that her little boy was covered in snow and Katara was staring down at him with wide eyes. "Kids!" she panicked and ran out the door._

_Sokka's head popped out from the mountain of snow. He shook his head violently, causing the snow in his hair to fly. His nose was red and his eyes were lazed. He glared over at Katara, whose ocean blue eyes, a few shades lighter than his, were as wide as saucers._

"_My babies are you alright?" her mother fell down beside Katara and dropped her arms on her shoulder. Katara pointed at his red-nosed brother._

"_Mom lookie! Sokka's Rudolph the red nosed reindeer!" she giggled aloud and hugged her mother._

_Although worried, she couldn't muzzle her laughter._

_Sokka sniffed as he looked at his mother. "Mom! How can you take her side! She did this to me!" he whined childishly._

"_You started it." Katara stuck out her tongue at him._

_Sokka scoffed in disbelief. "I started it?" his voice cracked. "You're the one that did that—" he was cut off by a very loud sneeze._

_Katara grimaced. "Eiw!"_

_She smiled at her two children. "That's enough, you two." She let go of Katara and pulled Sokka out of the snow. Then she enveloped him into a warm embrace. Sokka sniffled and dug into his mother's embrace._

"_Hey! That's my mom too!" Katara whined and jumped on her mother._

_They all had wide smiles on their faces. Just then, Hakoda went out of the lodge they rented for the winter. "Did I miss something?"_

_His wife looked at him and smiled._

"_Cause last time I checked, I was part of this family." He joked then ran to them, capturing them all in a warm embrace. Loud laughs erupted from both children as they fell back in the snow._

"_Dad! You're squishing me!" Sokka whined in a squeaky voice._

_Katara rolled her eyes. "Always the complainy guy!"_

"_You're not the one with a foot in your tummy!"_

"_Oopsie." Katara moved her little foot and hugged her mother._

"_Now why are we having this hugging moment?" Hakoda mused._

"_I believe Sokka needed some warmth, dear, so I gave him a hug."_

_Sokka's voice was still sqeaky. "Too much hugging…"_

_The two parents gave a hearty laugh as Hakoda elevated himself, allowing his son to breathe._

_Sokka gasped. "Air! Ai-" he chocked. "Bug! Bug!" he stuck out his tongue and ran his mittens over it. "Eiw! Disgusting!"_

_Katara giggled like crazy._

_Hakoda helped his wife sit up. "Katara, you can stop now." She smiled._

"_Yes mom." She put her hands over her mouth to muzzle her giggle._

_Hakoda rubbed his son's messy hair. "So, why'd you need a hug, huh, little man?"_

_Sokka rubbed under his nose. "Katara buried me under a ton of snow."_

"_Now Sokka. You can't possibly blame this on your baby sister." Hakoda smiled._

_Katara sneered. Sokka stuck out his tongue._

"_It's not like she can carry a mountain of snow and throw it at you." Hakoda continued. "Unless she made a very big snow ball."_

_Sokka shook his head. "No! She did this magic thing when she was shouting at me and then a big blob of snow formed behind her!"_

"_It's not magic!" Katara argued. "It's…"_

"_Waterbending…" the married couple whispered, almost out of breath in shock. Her hand flew to cover her mouth, a smile forming. Hakoda was still amazed._

"_See?" Katara pointed at them. "They know the difference!"_

_Her mother pulled her into a big hug. "Oh honey!" Katara's eyes widened._

_Hakoda pinched his daughter's cheek. "We're so proud of you kiddo!"_

_Sokka narrowed his eyes as he suspiciously switched his glance from Mom to Dad. "Okay, can somebody explain to me why burying me in a mountain of freezing snow, giving me frostbite on my butt, is something to be proud of?!" he yelled._

"_Come here you." Hakoda smirked and gave his son a nuggy._

"_As much as I hate to agree with Sokka, can somebody explain what is goin' on?" Katara blinked innocently._

_She pulled away to meet her daughter's ocean eyes, the exact same as hers. "Honey, you're a waterbender!"_

_If you think Katara's eyes were wide before, you should see how big they are now._

"_Re-really?" Katara beamed._

"_You just couldn't get any weirder, can you?" was all Sokka said._

_Katara lazed his eyes at him._

"_Well, we're proud to have a waterbender in the family! Especially if that waterbender is the most beautiful girl in the world!" he tickled his daughter, causing her to giggle uncontrollably._

_He looked over his wife, who had tears in her eyes that caused her eyes to sparkle in the light. He was mesmerized for a second. "Next to you, of course." He smirked at his wife, who smiled sweetly and mouthed 'thank you' before she leaned in and gave him a light kiss._

_Katara and Sokka's eyes twitched. "Eiw!" They covered their eyes with their gloved hands. "Icky!"_

_The couple chuckled at them and smirked at each other. "Ichy is it?"_

_They slowly removed their hands from their eyes and gulped. "RUN!"_

_Too late, they smothered their children with kisses._

**F a d i n g O u t O f A F l a s h b a c k**

"Mom! Stop!" Katara murmured, a smile on her lips. Small giggles erupted. "You're tickling me!"

"She's awake!" Toph shouted. Suki and Aang ran towards her bedside.

"Katara!" Aang yelled, shaking her arm lightly.

Her eyes opened suddenly, confusion looming over her. She stared at the white ceiling, the scene before her eyes rapidly fading. She had an oxygen mask on her face, and pain started to embrace her.

She was in the hospital.

"Katara, are you okay now?" Suki asked, worry and tears in her eyes.

Her eyes widened and she sat up suddenly. Too suddenly that her oxygen mask almost disconnected. Her lips trembled apart and her hands were shaking. She tried to hide her face. She started to wail uncontrollably as her shoulders trembled.

Suki, Aang and Toph watched her. _What was happening?_

_It was just a dream… Why did I have to wake up?_ She coughed and her stomach hurt, then she sniffled and started to cry again. She didn't mind the cuts that she touched on her face and palms.

"Katara… calm down…" Suki said, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"I-- it was just a—a dream…" she trembled. "Mo—mom, da-ad… So—o—Sokka…"

Suki swallowed hard. It was getting through to her, after all…

"Calm down, Sugar queen…" Toph said in an almost sympathetic voice.

She still didn't stop trembling.

Toph's eye twitched. "Hey!"

"Toph…" Aang put his hand on her shoulder. He whispered something that made Toph more irritated.

"She has better things to worry about!" she shouted in defense.

Suki looked at her. "Not now, Toph…"

"Well she does! What about her fiancé, Li?"

Katara's head shot up and revealed her damp cheeks. Li… Zuko! Everything came back to her. "Wh—where is he?"

Everybody's eyes went downcast. She looked around in confusion.

"He's in the emergency room…"

Her eyes widened and she was left breathless…

**CLIFFHANGER**

* * *

How come I always end it in a cliffhanger nowadays? Oh well… :D

Guess what? If you review, I'll give you that other memory I was talking about. Or even better, if you guys review, I can post it sometime here.

Please review if you think I should continue…

And I won't be able to update often, school just started, and I'm not ashamed to say I'm in probationary status! You know why?

I did it on purpose so I could get kicked out, turns out my teachers want me there…

…**shrug…**

So, please understand my situation, thanks!

kalyn19


	14. Chapter 14

Hello everybody! Well, thanks for the reviews, you guys rock! Sorry for not updating in like, ever, but as I stated before, I have classes now! So please bear with me, I know we all have that problem! :D

(23-06-08) It's declared that we have NO CLASSES today, it's MONDAY! So for once, I don't hate today! :D

I'm glad some of the cliffhangers work! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA (no smiley here guys!)

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 14

"She has better things to worry about! What about her fiancé, Li?!"

"Wh—where is he?"

"In the emergency room."

Her eyes widened and she was left breathless…

"Katara…"

She jumped off the bed immediately, completely disconnecting the oxygen mask. She didn't need it anymore. She's awake now.

"Katara!" they yelled after her, but she was out the door faster.

She ran down the hall and passed by Song. She stopped.

"Song?"

She raised her eyebrow. "Katara? What are you doing out of bed?"

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"I work part time as a student nurse and—"

"Where's the emergency room?"

Song pointed towards south and before she could say it, Katara ran off again.

Running hurts, her body was very sore. Her breathing was rough as if she was running forever.

Why am I doing this?

_I owe him my life_!

It would have never happened if you never met him!

_It's here now, isn't it?_

It shouldn't have been!

Finally, she reached the room and slammed the door open.

The room was dimly lit. On the bed was Zuko, his left arm on a cast, his forehead had a bandage wrapped around it, and the rest of his body was covered in bandages as well. He had a heart monitor on.

She sighed heavily and ran to his right bedside.

"Zuko! Zuko wake up!"

He didn't budge.

"Hey! You…" She sniffed. He had all these cuts, probably from the railing and some from the ground they fell on. "…moron!"

Her vision was getting blurry again, so she didn't see his right ring finger twitch.

"Wake up!"

After a while, she gave up and just sat there, waiting for him to wake up. The only sound in the room was the heart monitor.

She sighed. "Why'd you do that? I thought you didn't care?"

The monitor sped up.

She looked up, but only saw his calm face.

"I thought I was just a peasant?" she asked with blank eyes. "And that I shouldn't expect anything?"

His chest rose and fell slowly.

She raised her eyebrow. "You little jerk! You're awake aren't you?!"

A little smirk was forming on his lips, and it looked like he was hesitating.

Her eyes narrowed. "I cannot believe you!" She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "To think I was worried about you for a millisecond!"

He couldn't stop the smirk, so he turned his head to the left.

Her irritation grew. "Wait a second! You jumped after me!" she snapped.

His head slightly tilted.

"Aha! I knew it, you _do _care." She scoffed.

She swore his ear twitched upward.

"Or maybe…" she was the one smirking now, "You actually like me?"

He quickly sat up, gripping the sheets, and glared at her, a furious blush on his pale cheeks. "I said don't flatter yourself, peasant!" Then his un-cast arm flew to the left side of his forehead and he winced.

Katara suddenly stopped grinning and looked worried. "You have a cut?"

"More like a concussion." He muttered behind gritted teeth.

She blinked. "You're kidding right?"

Zuko glared at her. She smiled sheepishly and looked around.

"What are you doing?"

She didn't look at him. "Looking for water."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

She entered the bathroom and came out with a blob between her hands.

Zuko gave a disgusted look. "That didn't come out of the toilet, did it?"

"I wish it did." She lazed her eyes. "Stop whining!"

She was walking towards him and he inched away but didn't get that far. He was in a bed after all.

"What are you going to do with that?" he asked, obviously scared.

She glared. "I'm gonna freeze your butt to the wall if you don't calm down!"

He glared right back at her. "Don't you dare get any closer."

"Would you just shut your trap so I can heal that thing?!" she screamed.

He stopped. _She wanted to heal it? _His eyes softened instantly.

Hers did too, and this time, when their eyes met, they were calm.

Several moments later, they both looked away.

"Just lay down, okay?" she whispered.

He did as told, slightly hesitant.

She walked slowly beside him. Then she sat on the side of the bed and leaned closer for a better reach of his forehead. She could see that it was bleeding. After breathing out, she slowly placed the cool liquid on the wound.

His heart was beating fast. She was way too close for comfort. He blushed when her hand lightly brushed his cheek when she placed the water on his forehead. He winced for a bit with the coldness, and he closed his eyes.

The water glowed for a while, then after that, the pain was gone.

She needed to lean closer to gain balance, so she placed her elbow on the side of his pillow. "There, now that wasn't so bad, was it?" she whispered again.

He opened his eyes slowly.

Ocean Blue met Sunset Gold.

Their faces were inches from each other, they could feel each other's heavy breathing.

Several moments passed and they didn't move yet.

Voices were heard down the hall, and they were getting closer. "Katara! You shouldn't run like—" The door slammed open, and the light from the hallway flooded the room.

It was like a spotlight on the two.

Suki's hand flew to her lips. Aang's eyes widened. Toph whistled.

**COMMERCIAL**

Okay, so haven't these people ever heard of knocking?

I apologize if earlier it was choppy… I am sick now, proud of it! There's a bunch of storms coming in because it's stormy season here…

And now back to reading!

**END COMMERCIAL**

It was like a spotlight on the two.

Suki's hand flew to her lips. Aang's eyes widened. Toph whistled.

"It's… it's not what it looks like!" Katara defended, suddenly lifting herself off of Zuko.

"Oh really?" Toph smirked. "Then could you tell us what it is?" she crossed her arms.

Katara was blushing furiously. "I was just…"

Suki cut her off. "Katara, I know you two are engaged and all, but please…"

"What?" her jaw dropped. "That's disgusting! I swear I was just…"

"Wow, Katara, so that's why you leaped out of bed!" Aang blinked.

"Cut it out!" Katara yelled.

"No, we could totally understand." Toph said, holding out her hand. "you guys are just so lovey-dovey you can't stand to be apart."

She spat and stuck out her tongue. "Did that just come out of my mouth?!"

"That was beautiful Toph!" Aang said with teary eyes.

Toph lazed her sightless eyes at him. "Okay, now I know where that came from." She inched away from Aang. "Stay away from me, Twinkle Toes!"

"Excuse me…" Song said, making their heads turn. "Visiting hours are over."

Suki looked at the watch on her phone. It read 9:00. "We better get going, guys."

"Well, see ya later, Katara! Li!" Aang waved.

"You might want to sit up now, Katara." Toph smirked.

Katara instantly scrambled off of Zuko, blushing wildly.

As soon as they left, Song bowed her head and readied to close the door.

"Excuse me." Zuko said all of a sudden.

Song's head snapped up. "Yes?"

"Am I still in unstable conditions?" his face was stern and serious. Katara raised her eyebrow at him.

She checked her charts. "Not as of now, sir, why?"

"Place me in a private room." He demanded. "For two."

Katara's heat shot up and gaped. "What?!"

_What the hell does he think he's doing?! Is he asking for a burial?!_

Song nodded. "Your request will be processed shortly. Is Katara going to be in the room as well?"

Katara shook her head, but Zuko gave a short nod.

"Understood. Your things will be transferred to the new room. We'll call your attention if it's ready."

Zuko gave another nod, of thanks this time, and she closed the door, leaving the two of them in the room lit by a lone night lamp.

He slid back down on the covers, slowly as to not hurt his left arm in it's cast. He turned away from Katara, who was sitting beside him. He gave her no chance fo r an explanation.

She huffed. _Who does this jerk think he is?! What the Agni did I just get into anyway?! Hiding a singer or babysitting a brat?!_

She sat there, playing with her fingers, thinking of an explanation why Zuko would want to share a room with her.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED**

Does that qualify as a cliffhanger? I don't know, you guys tell me, please! :D

So, please review! It encourages me to continue even on my hectic schedule! Please!

Thank you guys! You're the best!

Thank you for reading!

kalyn19


	15. Chapter 15

OMG, thanks ever so much for the reviews! You guys rock! I can't believe you guys really like this! Thanks for the compliments!

It gives me energy to write on my hectic schedule built by school! Just so you guys know, I finished all my homework last night so I could type!

Anyway, so Zuko wants Katara to be in a room with him… is it by emotion or otherwise? Hmm…

You'll have to wait for that, cause something out of plot will happen.

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA… :D

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 15

She sat there, playing with her fingers, thinking of an explanation why Zuko would want to share a room with her.

She glanced over at him. Glared, rather. _What is he up to? And whatever it is, I don't like it!_

He shifted to face her, only his eyes were closed shut. As he did so, his messy black hair fell on his face, framing it.

Katara released a breathe she didn't know she was holding.

_And for your information Agni, I DO NOT find him cute! Not in any way associated with the word!_

Without opening his eyes, he spoke suddenly. "Stop thinking irrelevant thoughts, peasant."

Katara's eye twitched. "Excuse me? How are my thoughts irrelevant? What about yours?! Oh yeah, you're not capable of thought." She shrugged smugly.

Zuko opened his eyes and glared. "And you're not incapable of shutting your mouth."

Katara snorted. "Whatever, go to sleep already, so I can escape." She said, half joking, half serious.

"As if I care." He rolled his golden eyes and closed them, breathing out slowly, as if to sleep.

Katara huffed. "Jerk." She muttered and turned around.

Several minutes passed by and they didn't speak. _Maybe he really is sleeping…?_

Suddenly, her stomach grumbled. She was hungry. After that incident in the cafeteria, she had to chance to eat. Not even a bit today!

Today… all of that happened _just_ today?

She sighed. _Figures, the only way to end the longest, and I'm pretty sure worst, day of my life is in the hospital, with a cut palm, and a severely wounded rock star laying next to me, sleeping calmly like nothing happened._

She sighed. _Why does this have to happen to me?_

Apparently, he hard her stomach grumbling and chuckled, which earned him a glare.

"What's so funny?!" she said standing up, putting her hands on her waist.

Good thing his eyes were closed, or it would be awkward, him staring at her pose because he can't help it.

"There's a vending machine in the hall." He said, as if sleep-talking.

She raised her eyebrow. Her stomach didn't feel empty now, in fact, she was sure it had butterflies in them, fluttering their wings freely.

This is why she considers them bugs. They bug her.

"Oh," was all she said. She was heading for the door when…

"Mr. Lee? Your private room is ready. And there's someone there to see y… Oh he's sleeping. I'm sorry." Song said, covering her mouth.

"No it's okay, I'll wake him up and tell him." Katara smiled sweetly. She thought of pushing him off the bed, waking him up with a very loud groan. Her smile turned into a smirk with the idea.

"Thank you.'" She bowed and before she could close the door, she said… "Please refrain from shaking him awake, he has cuts on his right arm and a broken bone on the left."

Katara blinked. His left arm? That was the one he used to hug… err… cover her when they fell.

"Okay." She said absent mindedly.

She widened the crack suddenly. "What happened to you anyway?" Song asked suddenly, stepping out of her nurse-like attitude and back to her teen self, hot for some gossip.

Katara rubbed her neck. She winced, because she forgot she had a wound on her palm. "Long story."

Song nodded and closed the door.

As soon as she left, Katara sighed. She looked at her hand and thought 'Why didn't I heal this again?'

So she went to the bathroom and opened the faucet, cooling herself with the water. Before she knew it, her wound was gone. Then she splashed some on her face and kept it there, making sure not to cover her nostrils so she could breathe, and healed the cuts on her face as well.

She switched the bathroom light off and looked at Zuko's back. It was blood stained, too. _Why'd he save me?_

_So he could say you owe him and now you can't call the media on him!_

_What?!_ Katara gasped.

**COMMERCIAL**

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If found, please contact him immediately.

Or send him a message by Hawky.

Message of Sokka to Hawky: "Where'd you go, Hawky?"

We thank you for your patronage

**END COMMERCIAL**

_Where'd that thought pop out from suddenly?!_

_From your inner conscience who wants to get rid of somebody you really hate._

_Hello? He just saved my life!_

_I would snap at you, but I'd be repeating myself._

Is that what he intended? A bargaining chip? Just so she won't reveal him? The thought made her skin crawl. She thought back to the days when she would visit her brother, and people would do nice things to her just so she could take them to see Sokka. Yeah, not a good thought.

She walked over to his side, suddenly noticing he had a cast on his left arm. So that's why he couldn't turn away from her that long, he'd be putting his weight on it. And she thought he wanted to talk to her.

She looked sorry suddenly, wanting to take back what she thought. Would he really injure himself just for that? The 'bargain chip' thought, not the 'talk to me' thought.

"Don't get crazy ideas." She muttered to herself, a blush creeping to her cheeks. "It has to be the first one, it has to be."

"Talking to yourself?" He mumbled suddenly, causing Katara to jump. He sat up, running his right hand through his messy hair. "And I thought you couldn't get any crazier."

Katara gaped and was ready to bend water out of the toilet when she thought of a comeback. _A comeback without exposing a demand for an explanation. Two stones with one bird… __wait, it's the other way around__, oh forget it!_

"Really? You seem to surprise me with a new level of craziness."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Well," she shrugged. "Jumping after a _peasant_ to save her from falling? Who would have thought?"

Zuko's face suddenly fell. He didn't say anything.

Katara scoffed. "Really, explain that." She pointed to his left cast. "And the fact that I only wounded my palm. I mean, for a person who didn't care about me, you sure did a lot."

Zuko frowned. Did she really think he was that heartless? "Would you rather I didn't save you?"

That caught her by surprise. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off when Iroh, I mean Mushy, entered the room.

"Nephew!" he shouted, exhausted, then ran to hug Zuko.

Katara thanked Agni Iroh was there.

"What happened to you?"

Zuko glared at Katara before answering, "That stupid peasant fell on the railing by herself, and I tripped laughing at her."

Katara gaped. That was the most… words can't explain how frustrated she was.

Iroh eyed him suspiciously. "Is that so, then why are you more wounded than her?"

"I can heal myself." Katara spoke suddenly. She glared at the prince. How could he…? Suddenly change the way she thought of him like that? Why'd he lie about it? He could be treated as a hero!

Iroh looked relieved. "Then can you heal Zuko?"

"I'm sorry." Katara stated. "I don't cure morons who laugh at my pain." She bitterly replied. They were even.

_Were you?_

_Who's side are you on?!_

_Technically, on the left side of your brain._

_Oh, duh, talking to myself has got to stop._

Zuko looked away. "We have to stay for one more night. This is the only place we have privacy."

Iroh nodded. Katara sighed. After all that, she wasn't sure she would like to be left with him alone in a room.

"I, however, cannot stay." Iroh said. "It would raise too much suspicion, besides…" he tapped his watch. "I left the water boiling."

Katara and Zuko slapped their foreheads. Can't live without tea, can you, Uncle?

"Take care, and don't try to kill each other. I have genuine concern for both of you, and I trust you will solve this. Good night. See you tomorrow."

And with that he left them in the dark.

"Why didn't you tell him?" she blurted out suddenly. She had to speak her mind or she would explode.

Zuko didn't look at her. "So you could complete your image of how heartless I truly am."

Katara was shocked and she snapped her head towards him. He didn't turn around. He tossed the sheets and got out of the bed. It revealed blood stains on his left leg.

"Zuko, I…"

"Is the room ready?" he asked without looking at her. All she could do was nod.

"I'll meet you there. We have to talk about your brother and how he'll buy this thing, even if you can't buy it yourself."

He closed the door behind him and left her there.

She crossed her arms on her chest and bit her lip. She was so confused.

_I admit, I was scared. Falling a few floors from the ground, that's pie compared to how I can face him when I open my eyes. What was I to do? Hug him and thank him, then what?_

She sighed.

_I didn't know what to do, alright? My head was revolutionizing! I didn't know if I should thank him for saving my life, for nearly sacrificing his own just so I couldn't get hurt, or to be mad at him for changing my view of him that quickly! For changing my opinion of him in a flash._

_Pride got the better of me and thus, I turned out to be a jerk._

_More than the jerks I come to loathe all my life._

A tear ran down her cheek. Good thing she healed the cuts, or that tear would sting!

_I don't know if I could face him._

And so, she jumped out the window of the first floor room.

**CLIFFHANGER**

* * *

What, if she commited suicide then the story would end flat… :D

This story is getting more and more emotional by the second. I'll try to squeeze in humor a lot of 'once in a while's. Trust me! :D

That was extremely short for a chapter. But you got to admit, it had a lot in it… So please review and I'll update faster. :D

Lotsa Love and Pudding,

kalyn19


	16. Chapter 16

Oh My Gosh… (looks over at reviews again) I am officially in love with you guys! Thanks so much for the reviews! It keeps me alive knowing people really like this!

Anyway, in this chapter, you get to learn about what happened as they fell. Quite interesting… not… it's just telling you what you might have imagined… :D

I'm proud to say we won, Zutarians, in a way no one else will know but us! (wink)

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA… :D And I'm sad it's over, but the ending was epic!

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 16

He closed the door behind him and looked around the empty hallway. It was dimly lit so he made himself fire on his palm. It stung a bit, but he held it in. It's better than tripping on something later.

The hallway was quiet, so it allowed him to think.

_I'm such an idiot._ He scolded himself. _Why did I do that? Maybe that peasant was right, I am going crazy._

He closed his eyes, and a flashback came to him:

_Katara threw her head back. "Here we go again! In case you haven't noticed, my name is not 'peasant' it's Ka—" Her irritated voice transformed into a scream when the railing finally gave away, causing her to fall._

"_Katara!" he shouted and ran towards her._

_Too late, she was already falling. He panicked, so he jumped in after her._

_Her eyes were closed shut, she was still screaming. He gritted his teeth. He wasn't falling fast enough. At this rate, he would have jumped after her for nothing._

_He extended his arm, and it was just the right length to reach her. He clutched her hand and pulled her towards him, positioning him on the bottom._

_Katara was still screaming, shaking even. He enveloped his arms around her and placed his right hand on her head._

"_Don't worry." He whispered, although he wasn't sure if she heard him._

_It was still a long way down, so he braced himself for impact._

_He fell on his felt side, and he made sure Katara just fell on him. Pain started to embrace him, and he felt the blood tickle his left side._

_All fell silent._

"_Zuko?" Katara asked in a blur as she elevated herself._

_He was blacking out already, and he finally closed his eyes, letting the pain take over him._

_Katara's eyes widened. She had never seen so much blood in her life. Any more and she would certainly faint._

_She patted his cheek, but retrieved her hand immediately. She looked at her palm and it had a cut, a fragment of railing in it. Her eyes widened, then she fell down beside him._

_The next thing Zuko saw was a fluorescent lamp. He was lying on something that was very uncomfortable, for a hospital bed, but better than the ground with pinching grass. He suddenly sat up, which caused his head to throb very painfully. He shot his right hand up, because he couldn't feel his left one._

_He looked around… Where'd Katara go?!_

_He swung his legs to the side of the bed. He tried to stand up, but as his left leg touched the floor, he winced painfully and decided against it._

_Worry started to flood him, then the nurse came._

"_Mr. Lee! Please lie back down!" she asked, yet demanded at the same time. He did so._

"_Where's…"_

"_Ms. Katara?" she asked, starting to check his vitals. "I'm sorry we had to separate you two, it's just momentarily. She's in better condition than you, so no need to worry."_

_Zuko nodded and he suddenly felt relieved. He didn't know why, but he left lighter knowing she was okay._

"_You on the other hand," she started. "You have to stay in the ER rooms until you're not in unstable conditions anymore. We'll inform you as soon as she wakes up."_

_Zuko nodded. She still hasn't woken up?_

_The nurse left him, and he struggled not to get out of the bed._

_Why'd I do that anyway? Maybe that peasant's getting to me._

_He laughed at himself. Yeah, when hell freezes over._

_And you know what, he considered the fact that it was winter back home._

Ripping himself away from his thoughts, a blush crept to his pale cheeks. That was what he thought a while ago, and after her reaction, which by the way kind of left him in shatters, he wanted to smack himself for thinking that, all injuries considered.

He was starting to get a headache again.

Rain started to pour ever so loudly outside. The dark sky seemed to be taking out its anger on the earth.

He looked outside and saw how hard the rain was falling, and something peculiar.

It seemed the rain was pouring on all but one spot… that seemed to be moving. He walked closer to the window and saw that that spot was…

…Katara.

**COMMERCIAL**

This portion is brought to you by: KITKAT

(Katara's International Traveling, well, Katara's Avatar universe Traveling.)

_The South Pole_

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Ice Cold Water

Very Cold _'it's-like-it's-air-conditioned-out-here'_ Air

Snow 24/7

Feel free to indulge yourself in authentic Southern Tribe food

"Just steer clear of Gran Gran's Sea prunes." -Aang

**END COMMERCIAL**

Katara thanked Tui and La it started to rain. Most people will curse whenever it might rain and they were outdoors, but not Katara. She would even jump for joy.

As much as she loved the rain on her, she had to bend the water above her to make an umbrella. It was clouding her view.

The darkness slowed her down as it is.

She sighed.

She wasn't going back in there. She didn't know how to face Zuko, the one she called a jerk, when after all that she acted like one herself.

She had to clear her head. Her plan was to get to the nearest bus station and then take one home. It didn't occur to her to go back to the apartment.

--

He hurriedly ran, even though it hurt, towards the doors. Good thing the guard was asleep, or he wouldn't be allowed to exit the building.

Cast on left arm, head bandage, blood stained, clothes, these aren't exactly saying "I got released from the hospital"

"Hey!" he shouted to her, and he saw her stop and turn to him. "What do you think you're doing?"

Before he knew it, she ran into the bushes.

"Hey!" He was soaking wet, and his clothes stuck to his wound-covered body. Needless to say it was very painful.

He finally caught sight of her, and she was still running away from him.

"Slow down, peasant!"

"Stop following me!" she shouted back.

"No!"

She looked back at him while still running. You pretty much know what will happen.

"Watch where you're-"

She already tripped when he finished the sentence, her water umbrella splashing loudly on top of her.

Zuko fastened his pace, reaching her just before she could stand up and run. He grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me!" she cried, pulling her hand forcefully, not remembering Zuko's injuries.

"No!" he replied sternly. Pain was evident in his voice, but it was still strong.

She finally remembered, and she stopped struggling. "Sorry." She mumbled just below a whisper.

"What?" Zuko asked. He didn't hear her because of the loud drops of rain.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled then looked up at him.

He loosened his grip on her hand, but she didn't take it back. He furrowed his eyebrows.

They just looked into each other's eyes.

She broke eye contact. "…for acting like a jerk. You saved my life, and instead of this," she was talking about their condition, "I should be thanking you, not cause you any more trouble."

He still didn't speak. His shoulders lowered and he felt numb to the rain.

"It's just… I don't get you. You tell me not to get any idea that is remotely associated with you caring for me, yet when it came to it, you ran after me." She looked at him, hoping for an explanation.

He breathed out, and he ran his right hand through his wet hair. "I don't get myself either." He sighed. He didn't look at her.

Katara raised her eyebrow at him. That… wasn't the explanation she was looking for. "You mean you didn't do it just so I wouldn't call on you?"

Zuko glared at her. There she was again, openly stating he was a conniving lying…

Katara laughed. Out of nowhere, she laughed. "I'm sorry… Okay. I get it. That's not what you intended"

Zuko calmed down, but wasn't going to get her off the hook that easily. "I could do that?" he asked, a familiar smirk forming on his lips.

Katara gaped. "What? You actually plan on doing that?!"

Zuko shrugged and stood up, wincing for a while. "I just might." The he started to walk back to the hospital.

Katara's mouth was still open. "Hey!" She stood up, placing her hands on her hips. "You better not! Come back here you!"

Zuko didn't look back at her and continued walking, content that he won.

The sun was starting to rise. A new day is born.

(I guess you could apply the statement: "You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun.")

Katara grumbled in irritation and ran after him. She was finally at his side. He was a few inches taller than her, so she just lifted her chin and glared right into his golden eyes.

She hissed into his ear. "Don't you dare or else…"

"Or else what?" He turned his head towards hers. Their faces were a mere inch apart. She gulped and pursed her lips.

His eyes widened.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

Hey! If only there was somebody there that would push his or her head! Ah!

What an angst filled chapter… come to think of it, for the past how many chapters, this story is angst-y!

That will all change after this chapter, I think. It's back to the humor when that happens.

They are in an emotional state, after all. They have to resolve that before anything else.

Please review! Please!

Thank you for reading!

Lots of Love and Pudding,

kalyn19


	17. Chapter 17

* * *

Hello guys! Sorry for the long time it tool to update… Guess what? The love bug bit me! That's why I haven't written anything. Haha…

Anyway, thank One Tree Hill for yet another inspiring episode that got my butt up to write.

Thanks for the reviews again. PLEASE REVIEW!!

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 17

"So…" Toph started.

"What should we do now?" Katara added.

It was 6 am the following day and Toph came to the hospital. They wanted to think of the plan now. Sokka was coming home later at 9 pm. They got the plan, and the first part was to get Katara's engagement necklace.

"Let's just order one from the internet." Zuko suggested. He was still in bed, and he wasn't in any hurry to stand up.

Toph snorted. "I admire your laziness, but what fun would that be?"

"Yeah!" Katara protested. "If we buy one from a store… wouldn't that be fun?"

"That'll be fun." Zuko stated lamely. "Especially for the paparazzi."

"Hothead's got a point." Toph stated lamely.

"Yeah, and sending someone to your front door would just lessen the trouble they have to go through!" Katara said.

"So does Sugar Queen." Toph stated again.

"Why don't we just have it sent to the hospital?" Zuko tried again.

A knock was heard on the door.

"Excuse me?" Song popped her head through the door. "You guys are released. We'll wait for your check out at the front desk. Thank you." Then the door closed.

Zuko received a smug look from Katara.

"The Mall it is!" Toph proclaimed. She has been sitting there for 2 hours listening to these two babble. "Free at last!"

"What?" the two asked with raised eyebrows. They were staring at her.

Toph blushed. "Oh just hurry up! The smell of the dead is disturbing!"

Katara lazed her eyes. "Toph, we're in a hospital. Not everybody here is dead, you know. They're just ill."

Toph shrugged. "Close enough."

- - -

"What about this one?" Katara asked, pointing at an emerald necklace that had a carving of two hearts in it.

Toph crossed her arms. "Nah, you'll look fat in that."

Katara glared. "Ha. Ha. Toph."

Zuko was talking to a sales clerk, who was giggling. Katara was irritated. "You should try this sir, it's a new one."

It was red, a ruby in the middle. It had a carving of a small flame. Zuko took it in his hands and showed it to Katara.

Katara blinked. It looked very elegant. "Wow… it's…"

"Oh no!" the sales clerk said, taking Zuko's hand and hiding the stone. She earned a glare from Katara.

The sales clerk smirked. "I'm sorry, but the soon-to-be-fiancé can't look at the stone until it is presented to her. It's bad luck. It says the engagement wouldn't last long."

Toph laughed loudly. Zuko and Katara smirked. The sales clerk had no idea.

"Well then, we wouldn't want that to happen, now do we?" Zuko tried his best to act sincere. He took Katara's hand and squeezed it, a little strong to be affectionate. "Why don't you wait outside until I pick one?"

Katara stomped on his feet. "But I couldn't bare being apart from you for even a minute." Her acting skills proved sufficient for the line, even if she stomped on his foot per word.

Toph's sightless eye twitched. Was she hearing correct?! She didn't even sense a lie.

"She can handle it!" she spoke suddenly, dragging Katara by the collar out of the store.

Zuko hid a smirk from the shocked sales clerk.

Katara sighed. "You don't have to dr…" her eyes were caught by something on display.

It was a diamond necklace, with an ocean blue silk strap. The diamond didn't have carving, but the lace had embroidery on it with red silk. It showed the sun on one end, and the moon on the other.

Zuko saw her look at it, and raised his eyebrow.

Soon the two were out the door and out of sight.

"That was scary." Toph said, finally releasing her grip on Katara. "How'd you learn to do that? It was as if you weren't lying!""

"That's because it wasn't a lie." Katara stated, dusting her shoulder. "Well, not exactly, it was sarcasm."

Toph nodded. "Oh, right. Well, where'd you learn to do that?"

Katara rolled her eyes. "From the master of sarcasm."

"Who's that?" Toph asked, lazing her eyes.

"I see he rubbed off on you, too." Katara smirked.

Toph shivered. "Eiw! His germs are on me? Gross!"

Katara laughed.

- - -

"Well, sir?" the sales clerk asked. "What will it be?"

Zuko walked over to the shelf where the necklace is. He took it in his hands.

"Excellent choice sir." The sales clerk commented.

Zuko looked at her, she was placing the necklace he chose back. "Wait. I'll take that."

The girl looked puzzled. "But what about…"

"Save this for me." He said handing it to the clerk. "I'll come back for it."

"Oh." She said. "Does this mean…"

"I'll take the red one." He said, taking out his wallet.

- - -

"Wait, how do you plan on paying the necklace?" Toph asked, suddenly lifting herself from the wall.

Katara blinked. "His credit card. My dad would freak if he saw the bill…"

"But if you use his credit card, won't that sign in his bill?"

"Yes, that's the point." Katara raised her eyebrow.

Toph sighed. How slow can Sugar Queen be?! "Okay. Fine. Just wanted to point out that if he gets billed, they could trace it to where and ask around…"

Katara's eyes widened. "What?!"

"Shocking, isn't it?" Toph asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Give me your credit card!" Katara exclaimed. She tugged Toph's sleeve.

"Hey! Why would…"

Too late, Katara took hold of Toph's green and black wallet. "Thanks Toph!"

Toph grumbled. "You better pay me back!"

- - -

"Lee!" Katara exclaimed, running into the store. Zuko was just about to take out his credit card.

Zuko raised his eyebrow. "What?"

Katara took down his hand that held his credit card and switched it. "Uh…"

Zuko saw what she was doing and it became clear to him. He scolded himself for not thinking of it. "Missed me?" he smirked.

Katara's eye twitched. She narrowed her eyes. "Why…"

Zuko quirked his eyebrow, smirking. The sales clerk was looking jealously at them.

"Why of course! Didn't you?" she supplied.

"No, he has me for company." The sales clerk added.

Katara glared at her then at Zuko. "I didn't ask you, now did I Miss too much eye shadow?!"

The sales clerk pursed her lips. Zuko put his arm on Katara's shoulder. "Do you take…" he looked at the card and read it. "Bosco Credit?"

The sales clerk nodded, not releasing her glare from Katara. She took the card and swiped it.

"Thank you for shopping at Flopsie Jewelry. Please come again." She directed at Zuko.

"Oh we'll try." Katara snapped. She turned them around and headed for the door. She suddenly realized that Zuko's arm was still draped on her shoulder. She didn't mind actually.

Heartbeat.

Uh... It's to make that sales clerk jealous, that's why, she thought to herself. Zuko must have sensed her discomfort, and asked her.

"What now?"

Once they were out of the store, Katara pointed to his arm.

"Oh." He said, taking it back. Suddenly, Katara regretted saying so.

They looked around and saw that the blind earth bender was nowhere to be found. They looked at each other in question.

- - -

"Yeah we're at the mall." She whispered into her phone.

The voice in the other line spoke. "What store?"

"How am I supposed to know?!" she snapped.

"Have you tried looking at the sign?"

Toph rolled her eyes. "Oh okay, it's oh wait, there's a black out. I can't see a thing!"

"Apologies. I forgot your lack of sight."

Toph snorted. "You think?"

"Anyway, thank you for the information. Your help is greatly appreciated."

"Yeah yeah. Just make sure 'the money's in the bag.'"

"Done and done. Goodbye."

The line went dead and Toph shut her phone. She listened to see if anyone heard her, and felt on the ground. Coast is clear.

Time to go back to…

"Hey Toph! Where've you been?" Katara asked, taking a sip from her mango shake by a swirly straw. They were at Cactus Shack, 3rd floor of the mall.

"Oh." That took her by surprise. "I just needed to go to the bathroom."

Katara nodded. "Mhh, this shake is great."

"Where's hothead?"

Katara pointed back at the cashier. "Trying to order. I'm too embarrassed to stand next to him."

"Why? He's just ordering…"

"Coffee in a shake joint."

Toph burst out laughing.

Just then, Zuko came back, frowning.

"They all out of espresso?" Toph asked mockingly.

"Nobody told me this wasn't a café." He protested.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well we figured the sign 'shakes and nothin' else' was enough."

Zuko blushed.

"So, what's next?" Toph asked.

"The proposing part." Katara sighed.

"Great. When are you gonna do it?"

The two looked at each other. "At dinner."

Toph's eyes widened. "What?!"

* * *

Yeah, what?! PLEASE REVIEW!!

So, Zuko's gonna propose in front of Sokka, haha.

(09.01.08) I'm absent today! No!

Tune in for the next chapter. Ciao!

kalyn19

Oh yeah please review and thanks for reading?


	18. Commercial Preview

Hi guys! This is kalyn19! Sorry so much for the absence! I have fallen in [and out] of love during that span of time. I'm sorry I left this story, but I'm back now… if you want me too.

I'm just kind of having doubts if you guys still want me to continue this or not… please tell me…

So that this won't be such a waste of time, I included a kind of teaser for the upcoming chapter… Promise that there'll be a lot of humor involved, and the drama that we've known to love.

Twists and turns are ahead, but for the meantime, please enjoy:

* * *

**Secret Music**

Preview of Chapter 18

The dining room was fixed. Everything was set for Sokka's arrival.

"Ready?" Katara asked Zuko for the umpteenth time. She was playing with her fingers nervously.

Zuko looked at her and smirked. "Are you scared or something?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Of course not!" she answered too quickly for it to be true. She crossed her arms over her chest and heaved out. No way was she going to admit she was, especially to him. No way was she going to admit that when they were shopping, her heart felt a little bit jumpier. No way was she going to admit that, granted this was all a lie, she was excited to wear an engagement necklace… from him.

Releasing a sigh, he ran his hand through his messy black hair. He felt something pulling his chest. Was he… nervous? Of course he is, he was about to propose. But this is just a lie, a cover-up story so he won't get caught. But why did the thought of asking Katara to marry him make him slightly excited?

He approached her and sat next to her on the 3rd step of the stairs. Katara moved away uncomfortably.

He had to ask this now. "You aren't going to take this personally are you?"

Katara's head shot up and her eyes widened. Was she not allowed to? She looked at his ember eyes. They were serious. No hint of sarcasm, or mock, at all. He was really asking. She opened her mouth to answer, but couldn't bring herself to.

Zuko waited for her to say something. He looked at her ocean blue eyes. His heart rate was a bit faster now, like he was afraid of the answer.

_Am I not allowed to take pleasure in this, even if it's just an illusion?_

"I…" Katara started, and urged herself to continue, but seeing his eyes light up made her think otherwise. Her breath was caught in her chest. What was she going to say?

**Fade Out**

* * *

Okidoki, enough sneaky-peeky.

Give me a sign if you guys are still into this story or not… cause it's kind of depressing if nobody would want me to continue… Thanks.

Thank you for reading and please respond… or else I might think you abandoned this… Thank you.

~kalyn08


	19. Chapter 18

Oh my gosh, thanks so much for the words guys! You rock!

I officially dedicate this whole chapter to all of you who reviewed!

So irritated right now because I typed this earlier, but when I uploaded it, the website went wonky… so I retyped it again. Looking at the bright side, though, at least I can fix some errors and add more detail.

Disclaimer: I noticed I forgot to write this last time, so including the last chapter, I DON'T OWN A:TLA.

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 18

**Sokka's Flight Home ****2:00**** before dinner**

The sign that said "Seatbelt" lit up. "Passengers, please fasten your seatbelts. The plane is now taxiing. Thank You."

Sokka popped a peanut into his mouth just as the stewardess approached him. "Excuse me" he said, cheeks full. "Can I get a glass of water?"

The stewardess scrunched up her nose as she flicked some of Sokka's saliva from her sleeve. "Right away, sir." She said in a French accent.

He swallowed. "Sorry 'bout that." He grinned sheepishly. The girl smiled at him and blushed. He started to act goofy: "So, nice accent. Are you French?"

The girl nodded and giggled. "My father is American, though." She smiled and showed her dimples. It made her a bit cuter, so Sokka thinks.

"So, you're mother's French?"

"Correct."

"And you're dad is an American?"

"Wi." She supplied.

"Interesting." He said then leaned back. He drummed his fingers on the arm rest.

The girl raised her eyebrow at him. "Will that be all, sir?"

Sokka looked at her and blushed. "Well, actually, no… Ca-can I ask you something?"

"Um, sure." She said, curling a silver lock behind her ear. "What is it?"

He looked away. "Never mind, it's kind of embarrassing."

The girl sighed. "No, it's okay. Go for it." She urged.

Sokka gulped. "Okay…"

The girl leaned in closer to hear him, her heart beating a bit faster than normal.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Here goes…"

She didn't notice, but she was holding her breath.

"Did French fries come from France?" he asked sheepishly, then squished his eyes shut, afraid of her reaction.

Her face dropped. Her mouth was agape. Wow, she didn't expect that.

Sokka gulped. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have asked. I was just…" he trailed off, blabbing like a goof.

She giggled. "Bottled or sparkling?"

"What? The fries?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No." she muffled her laughter. "The water, sir."

"Oh," he blinked. "Yeah, bottled is fine."

"Right away." She left him giggling. "And by the way…" she turned around to him and gave him a little wink, "it's Yue."

Sokka's lids became heavy suddenly and he looked dreamily at her. "Mine's Sokka."

Suddenly, heads turned, and somebody spoke. "It's Sokka from bOomerang!" then he was ambushed, regardless of the blinking sign that said "seatbelt."

Yue giggled. She shook her head and disappeared through the curtain.

**Toph and Aang's ****Apartment**** 1****:00 before dinner**

"Are you sure?" Aang asked again. For these past few days, it was like Toph couldn't wait to get rid of him.

Just a few days ago they were okay together. Sure Toph would make fun of him, bug him, irritate him, take a sip from his juice box with out asking… But now it seems like Toph is avoiding him like the plague. Something is not right.

The night before, Toph was on her bed, leaning on the wall and her back turned. He just asked her if she wanted milk, and she snapped at him right after she jumped.

Toph rolled her sightless eyes. "Yes, Twinkle Toes, I'm sure!!! Now will you just get the stupid take-out?!"

She pushed him towards the door and slammed the door shut, preventing Aang from getting a word in edgewise. "Man, it's been getting harder to get rid of Twinkle Toes!" she verbally complained. It's like everywhere she turns, there's Aang! How on earth can she keep her business underground if Aang keeps popping up?

She walked over to the table and felt for the little rectangular box. It was decided that she would keep the necklace for a while. Zuko told her to. She snorted. He actually took the saleslady's advice. It's not as if they were really engaged. Something's fishy between those two, she said to herself.

She opened it and felt for the symbol engraved on the stone. Her face turned suddenly. "What the—?"

She was stopped mid-sentence by the banging on the door.

"Toph! Open up!" _I get it now!_ Aang thought proudly. _I know why she keeps on acting like that. Man, I can't believe I was this blind… wow, how ironic._

She put the box down on the table and closed it, then she hid it in her baggy pants. She grudgingly walked towards the door and pulled the knob, to find Aang in a weird position. He had one knee on the ground. "What are…"

"Toph," Aang asked, his voice seemingly deeper, "will you go out with me?"

**Katara's ****Apartment**** 0****:30 before dinner**

The dining room was fixed. Everything was set for Sokka's arrival. Katara put down the telephone. She had just talked to Suki about the dinner, and they agreed upon formal clothes. She walked towards the stairs and sat on one of the steps. She observed Zuko trying to put his bow tie on, failing miserably and cursing under his breath. Katara giggled at him but was careful not to let him hear.

Moments passed by, and only the sound of Zuko's mumbles every time the bow went undone was heard.

"Ready?" Katara asked Zuko for the umpteenth time since they arrived home. She was playing with her fingers nervously.

Zuko finally gave up on his bow tie and took it off. He decided to just be casual-formal, letting 2 buttons undone at the top of his shirt. He looked at her and smirked. "Are you scared or something?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Of course not!" she answered too quickly for it to be true. She crossed her arms over her chest and heaved out.

No way was she going to admit she was, especially to him. No way was she going to admit that when they were shopping, her heart felt a little bit jumpier. No way was she going to admit that, granted this was all a lie, she was excited to wear an engagement necklace… from him.

Releasing a sigh, he ran his hand through his messy black hair. He felt something pulling his chest.

Was he… nervous? Of course he is, he was about to propose. But this is just a lie, a cover-up story so he won't get caught. But why did the thought of asking Katara to marry him make him slightly excited?

He approached her and sat next to her on the 3rd step of the stairs. Katara moved away uncomfortably.

He had to ask this now. "You aren't going to take this seriously are you?"

Katara's head shot up and her eyes widened. Was she not allowed to? She looked at his ember eyes. They were serious. No hint of sarcasm, or mock, at all. He was really asking. She opened her mouth to answer, but couldn't bring herself to.

Zuko waited for her to say something. He looked at her ocean blue eyes. His heart rate was a bit faster now, like he was afraid of the answer.

_Am I not allowed to take pleasure in this, even if it's just an illusion?_

"I…" Katara started, and urged herself to continue, but seeing his eyes light up made her think otherwise. Her breath was caught in her chest. What was she going to say?

Zuko was leaning in with every moment of anticipation. This is it. He wanted to know the answer. He was hoping that…

_I'm just going to lie_, she told herself. _It's no big deal, I've done this before. [lie to myself about my true feelings] Besides, I won't give him the advantage of looming something over me and using it to mock me. I can't put my heart at that risk. Not again._

Her lips turned into a sad smile. "Of course not, it's just a lie, remember? A cover up. Why should I take it personally?"

It seems as though Zuko's world came crashing down. He didn't know words could pierce like that. But still, something in her sassy voice, the way she said it, made him doubt the words she actually said. Somehow, he knows she was lying. At least, that's what he's telling himself.

Zuko pulled away, suddenly noticing how close their faces were, and how uncomfortable it made Katara. He stood up and walked away, his back turned to her.

She heard him sigh. His voice seemed to echo in the tension-filled room. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Her breath was caught in her chest. _What?_

He turned, but not actually facing her. "Unlike you, I _will_ take it seriously, even if you don't." _I'm tired of playing this charade. I'm tired of hiding what I really have to say. What else is there to lose, anyway? I already know how she'll react._

He turned and headed for the door. "I'm going to go get ready. I'll see you later at the proposal. Please try to act like you're happy, for your brother's, and for this lie's, sake."

Katara stood up, but didn't approach him. She kept a hand on the railing. Her eyes were getting puffy. "Zuko, I…"

"Goodbye" He cut her off. Then, he left.

* * *

Oh, Zuko that is bad manners!

Anyway, does that count as a cliffhanger? Cause people have been telling me to stop with the cliffhangers, and I've been trying, really I have!

So please review, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! I want to know how you react so I'll know which turn they'll take next.

YOU ARE CRUCIAL TO THIS STORY

Thank you for reading and I hope you do review! Thanks!

Kalyn08 [if anybody asks, I still love my ex]


	20. Chapter 19

First off, I am eternally sorry for NEVER updating this… I truly am… I have no excuse… especially with THAT kind of cliffhanger…

Anyway, it's finally here… Please enjoy! And if you guys don't review I'll take it you left this story… alright?

Anyway, you will notice my style in writing is changing as we go along the story… and I'm sorry if you find that bad, please inform me if it bothers you. Thanks :)

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 19

**Toph and Aang's Apartment 0:56 before dinner**

"Toph," he said, his voice seemingly deeper, "will you go out with me?"

Toph just stood there, her sightless eyes wide. Was she hearing correctly? She couldn't be. _All this stress must be going up my head_, she thought, _after all, a girl like me can only take so much…_

"Toph are you mad?" Aang finally asked after what seemed like minutes of silence. He stood up, and approached her, worried.

Finally, the pale girl got back into her senses. She gave his arm a punch, which caused Aang to step back.

"Ouch!" he said rubbing it, "What was that for?"

Toph looked angry, bewildered even. Her balled fists were on her hips and she was glaring at him.

"That, Twinkle Toes, was for taking you so damn long to ask that!"

Aang was about to argue when her words registered in his brain. Then, his mind just kind of stayed open. He was the one speechless now.

Toph lazed her eyes, but she couldn't help blush. "Are you trying to catch a fly in your mouth, Twinkle Toes?"

With the sound of her mocking voice, he was brought back. He then went in for a kiss, but Toph put her hand up between them.

"Not on your life, Twinkle Toes."

Aang was baffled. "Hey!" he complained, but Toph gave him the cold shoulder. _What was going on here?_ "I thought…"

"Would you just get the freaking take-out? Or do you want to be the battered boyfriend first?" she said harshly, but playfully.

Aang opened his mouth to protest, but once again Toph slammed the door on his face.

Then, they leaned on the door, sighed and said:

"What the heck just happened?"

**Katara's Apartment 0:27 before dinner**

It had been 2 minutes since Zuko left. Two agonizing minutes of Katara asking herself what had just happened. His bitter words hung in the air.

"_Please try to act like you're happy, for your brother's, and for this lie's, sake."_

She didn't even know how to react to that, much less what to say. Pure frustration crossed her features and she balled her fists, turning her knuckles white. _The one time I thought I finally got it figured out, it blows up in my face… AGAIN!_

She took deep breaths, but none of it calmed her. What was she to do? She can't possibly think straight throughout the dinner. She needs someone to talk to. Halfway to the phone she stopped short. She can't call her best friend, Suki. What could she say? She can't possibly say they argued at the night of his supposed-proposal. It will look bad, and the least she needed was to let Suki think accepting Zuko's proposal was a bad idea.

She's had enough worrying about the type of guys Katara likes. Any more and she'll be convinced Katara's a jerk magnet and may not let her date… without a chaperone and a written consent on her friend's approval.

What's more is that she needed Suki, very badly, to help her win her brother over about her decision. Though she wasn't fooled… NOTHING can cushion Sokka's fall (more like faint) about the news… but maybe having Suki on her side would at least save her from getting killed.

With a sigh, she reluctantly went back to her place on the stairs. What was she to do? Sokka will be coming home in less that half an hour and she has this dilemma at hand. One that needn't even be there except for the fact that Katara lied.

"Agni, I am such an idiot!" she shouted, frustrated, as she dropped her head on her hands. She told herself she wouldn't cry. Not only because of pride, but because her make up would get ruined if she did.

**Along Min Avenue 0:23 before dinner**

Zuko walked tensely down the sidewalk, his hands in his tailored pants' pockets. Had he just done the most outrageous thing in his life? _No._ He strongly told himself. _I'm not going to regret this. I'm not going to regret… not lying. _He clenched his teeth. _That doesn't mean what I did wasn't stupid._

Breathing out slowly, he dejectedly walked down the street, passing Toph and Aang's apartment.

The streetlights were the only things illuminating his way. He couldn't make a fire from his hand… it would attract attention. He dragged his heels to the nearest lamp post and took out his hand. Reading his wristwatch, he estimated he still had 15 minutes to pull himself together.

"Great" he snorted to himself. He turned back and glared at Katara's apartment. Taking a few steps toward it, he hesitated and stepped back. He ran his fingers through his hair and breathed out again. "How am I going to face her?"

Just then, as if on cue, the door opened a tiny crack, spilling the light from the living room on the steps. A lone figure stepped out. Though it was dark, Zuko clearly knew who it was.

She appeared to have exhaled. Either from frustration or relief, he was about to find out.

"Uhm… can you come inside?" she said weakly, as if she had something in her throat.

It only took him 6 strides to be at the bottom of the stairs. He looked up at her. He couldn't see her very well, but she was outlined by the light from inside. She had a sad smile on her lips, but all he could see were her eyes. Was it his imagination, or were they glittering?

"Hey…" she started. The sad smile turned into a genuine one. It was of relief. _I'm glad he's still here._

Unfortunately he didn't return her kind of warmth. "I thought you were going to let me in." he said in a cold and distant voice.

Katara was shocked, but she didn't let it show that much. She cast her eyes downward in embarrassment. _What's wrong with me? He just looked me in the eyes… so what?_ "Oh, yes, of course." She stepped out of the way, allowing Zuko to pass.

He walked up the stairs, looking straight ahead, not even sparing her a glance. He walked past her, and his arm gently brushed the tip of her downcast forehead. He sensed her look up, but he didn't look back at her. He continued on to the living room, passing the spot where he basically confessed he has feelings for her just minutes ago. He forced himself to remain unaffected, but his walk grew stiffer.

Preparing to sit on the couch, he caught a glimpse of the time. 8:47 PM. He decided against sitting. "Your brother is about to arrive," he spoke distantly, not looking at her.

Katara sensed he was avoiding her gaze. She didn't like it one bit, but he couldn't blame him. It was her fault entirely for being… a stuck-up snob. With the irony of things, she wasn't able to reply. The next thing she knew he was taking his dinner jacket from the arm of the couch. "Hey… where are you going?"

He stopped mid-track and turned his head ever so slightly, just to verify he was talking to her. "The plan, remember?" was all he said, then he continued to walk away. He took the back door, the in the kitchen.

"Oh…" was her late reply, "right…" She looked up, fully knowing she wouldn't see anyone.

Then why did her heart sink?

**In A Taxi 0:13 before dinner**

"To Mint Avenue, please." Sokka said tiredly to the cab driver. He peeped at his wristwatch. It read a little before 9:00. "And ca you please hurry, I'm kind of late for dinner." He then blew out a breath of exhaustion.

"Long trip?" the driver asked politely.

"Not really," Sokka replied, smiling goofily at the old man's hospitality. "It was the fans that got me wiped."

The cab driver seemed to look up at the mirror. "Fans, eh?"

"U huh" He said, closing his eyes. It's time to relax. He didn't want to look like a wreck, well, more of a wreck than he already is. He slowly drifted off to sleep.

"You must be someone, then, eh, mate?"

Sokka sighed and held in a groan. He couldn't be rude to this polite man. He was just trying to make a conversation. "Uh… yeah" he said sleepily.

"So, how'd they get to yah?" he asked, seemingly intrigued.

"Well," he began drowsily, "I was kinda flirting with this stewardess… She's French" he said that, as if it gave importance.

The cab driver nodded, urging him to continue.

"And she sorta gave me her name." he continued, only half awake. "It's Yue." The name passed his lips like it was honey and he smiled.

The cab driver acknowledged his awe-stricken voice. _Teenagers_, he thought to himself. "Then?" he pushed on for the story.

He yawned. "Then, of course, I said my name. I was like… 'It's Sokka…' then somebody said 'Sokka from boomerang!' Then the next thing I know I was ambushed."

The car swerved to a halt, which jolted Sokka back from his drowsiness. He was startled, with his eyes bulging out of his head.

"What just happened? Did we hit a baby sabertooth lion?!" he asked, panicked.

The cab driver looked back at him with wide eyes. "You're Sokka! From the band 'boOmerang!' Oh, I'm such a big fan, can you sign this for me please?" he asked eagerly, shoving a hat and a pen in the back seat.

Sokka blinked his confusion away. "Uh, sure." He glanced at his wristwatch. 5 minutes. Katara's gonna kill him if he's late. He signed it quickly and gave it back to the driver. "There." He smiled, hiding his agitation as best as he can.

"Oh thank you, sir" The cab driver smiled gratefully. "Wait 'till my wife hears about this."

He gave him a smile. "Ahuh, yeah, can we please get back to…"

"Oh!" he looked back. "Get Back! Oh I love that song! Can you sing it for me?"

"Uhm," he started, "actually, I'm not the lead singer. I'm the guitarist."

The driver was silent for a moment. "Right." He finally said. "then you can strum a few chords for me"

Sokka's mouth was agape. "But I don't have a guitar!" he whined.

"Oh…" he said, then turned around.

Finally, Sokka thought, but then…

Instead of grabbing the wheel, he opened the car door. "I think I have a guitar in the trunk. Wait there." Then he jogged to the back of the taxi.

"Agni…" Sokka swore. It was as if we was never getting home. "Please don't let Katara kill me."

* * *

Well, for once, it is NOT a cliffhanger! :D

Sorry if it's a bit short, I'll make it up to you guys, I swear! I'll update more frequently. Next chapter's already in the works.

It won't be posted if you don't review though… I'm not holding it hostage… Just send me a sign you're still with the story, please?

Click the review button ;)

~kalyn19


	21. Chapter 20

I would like to thank everybody who reviewed. :) You guys helped! I'm glad I can write again knowing some people still read this and are kind enough to give their thoughts on it.

A promise is a promise, so sorry if it's late, but here is the next chapter, people!

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 20

**Toph and Aang's apartment 0:10 before dinner**

"Psst, Toph!" Zuko hissed from the window. He tapped it with his index finger. He looked around the dark apartment and squinted. "Toph?"

Suddenly, the windows were opened forcefully, revealing a pale girl. Zuko jumped back and nearly fell off the fire escape.

"Zuko? What are you doing there?" she asked, perplexed. She looked straight at him. It's as if she wasn't blind.

Well, it was actually a funny story.

When he dramatically exited Katara's apartment from the back, he landed on a fire escape. Confused, he looked down and stepped back. It was rusty, so he wasn't safe there.

He looked around and saw the fire escape on Toph and Aang's apartment building. Quickly but carefully, he jumped off the one he was standing on and grabbed the ladder. He looked up and started looking for their apartment. It was kind of hard because he didn't know where the two lived.

Swearing under his breath, he climbed up, careful as to not ruin his outfit for the night. He went up until he was just below Katara's apartment, and the platform he jumped off from. He looked across, and then on top of him. It was directly across Katara's, and he guessed it belonged to the earth bender. The platform and railing wasn't as rusty, but he was cautious nonetheless as he swung from the ladder.

Now back to the present.

"Well?" Toph was waiting, as usual impatient.

"Can I have the necklace now?" he asked, not answering her question.

This seemed to irritate the little earthbender. She turned around and headed into the dark.

Zuko climbed through the window and sat on the frame. "Why is it so dark in here?"

Toph stopped, and a thud was heard. "Really, hmm, I didn't notice."

Zuko smiled sheepishly. "Right, sorry. So, did you stub you toe?"

She turned around, carrying a small box with her. "What?"

"There was a thud…" Zuko felt stupid all of a sudden.

"Oh, that," she said, a little bit distant. "I kicked the table so I would know where the box was with the vibrations."

"Oh" he replied. He was feeling very stupid, like he was rude.

She handed him the box and he took it. Looking at it intently, he slid it into his pocket and looked at her again. He didn't know why, but he felt obliged to clear the air. "That's a nice dress." He said, not thinking over his words.

She lazed her eyes and turned around, uttering a thanks over her shoulder.

Once again, he felt stupid.

**Katara's Apartment 0:05 before dinner**

She paced nervously back and forth in front of the door. _What is taking him so long? _she thought furiously, thinking of her brother. Just then, the doorbell rang, and she jumped with the sound. She walked over to the door, expecting her brother, but she saw Suki. She had a shocked expression on her face.

"Hey." Suki said, giving her a weird look. "I _was_ invited, right?"

Katara shook it off. "Uhm, yeah. I'm sorry, I thought you were Sokka." She said, giving her friend a hug.

After they pulled back, Suki asked worriedly, "You mean he hasn't arrived yet?"

The waterbender shook her head and sighed. "He was supposed to be here at least 5 minutes ago."

"Oh, you know Sokka." She jabbed. "Come on, you don't expect him to be on time, do you? Much less early."

Katara smiled, calming down a bit. "Yeah, you're right." She gave a genuine smile at her friend, then her smile turned into an O. "Woah! Suki, you look…"

"Too much?" Suki said, widening her arms for emphasis. She was wearing a sleek evening dress in a dark shade of green. The dramatic drapes of the dress complimented her figure well, and the color was perfect for her hair and eyes. She was sporting a pair of strappy heels, the same color as her hair.

Her mouth was still an O. "I'm… speechless. You look… dazzling, Suki!" she grinned, a knowing glint in her eye suddenly visible.

With that, her friend blush. "You said dress up."

Katara just nodded innocently. "Ahuh, yeah, whatever."

Suki gaped, looking indignant. "Hey! Stop what you're thinking right now!"

"What?" she asked innocently, blinking her eyes for effect.

Just then, the doorbell rang again.

Katara walked past Suki, uttering an "excuse me". Then, she opened the door to find Toph and Aang.

"Good evening, Katara!" Aang politely greeted. Toph was at his side, with lazed eyes.

Something was different, but she couldn't place it. She gave them a weird look.

Toph sensed that she wasn't letting them in. "Yes, I'm in a dress, Sugar Queen, get over it!" she huffed and crossed her pale arms on her chest. "Now can you let us in?"

Katara blinked back. It seemed all her friends are shocking her somehow. "Oh, yeah, of course," she said absently, stepping back to let the couple pass.

_Couple!_ Realization dawned on her. _Of course!_

A grin was on her face as Toph and Aang walked past her, and it was like Aang had his hand on Toph's back as if ushering her in. Just then, Toph's back stiffened, but not because of his touch, but because of Katara.

She swiftly turned around and narrowed her eyes at her. "Whatever you're thinking, stop it!"

Katara blushed.

"That's exactly what I said when she gave me that look." Suki added.

The waterbender stammered. "But, uh, I, come on guys! You're all full of surprises today!"

Toph and Suki rolled their eyes. "Yeah, whatever," they said in unison.

Aang was silent today, but he had a big grin on his face and a glint in his eyes that made him glow.

"Where's Sokka?" Toph asked, not feeling his familiar footsteps.

"He's not here yet." Katara sighed.

Suki sighed with her.

After a few moments of silence, Katara ushered them into the dining room.

"Toph, did you get the take-out?" she asked, suddenly noticing how empty the dining table looked.

The pale girl's head snapped up with wide eyes. "Oh, uhm…"

Katara's eyes also went wide, but it turned into narrow slits as soon as she heard Toph's guilty voice. "Toph…" She crossed her arms over her chest. "You did get the take-out, didn't you?" her words were like venom.

"I…" Toph began, feeling sheepish, and then she elbowed Aang. "This is all Twinkle Toes' fault!" she began, albeit desperately.

"What?!" Aang argued, clutching his stomach. "No it's…" He trailed off, seeing Toph's angry eyes. He sighed. "Yeah, it's my fault."

Suki raised an eyebrow at his submissiveness and looked at Katara for enlightenment, but the waterbender seemed dazed.

She then snapped out of it and began panicking. "What?! But… what are we supposed to eat?! You can't call it dinner if we don't have anything to dine on!"

"Chill, Katara!" Toph said. "Aang, go pick up the take-out now."

"Yes, ma'am!" he saluted and headed for the door, but before he got there when doorbell rang.

Everybody gulped.

**The Park 0:02 before dinner**

Zuko was sitting on the park bench. He looked at his watch for what seemed like the 7th time in under a minute. He was irritated with himself. Why was he being nervous? _It's just a peasant! _He reminded himself. _So she's helping me. That doesn't mean I should be in love with her… _He stopped, looking up suddenly.

He knew this peasant for 2 days and he thinks he's in love with her? _I must be going out of my mind,_ he convinced himself. Maybe the deprivation of all things he was used to was messing with his head.

He couldn't possibly fall for her that fast. _I mean, she's irritable. And she's loud mouthed. She has a short temper and she's over dramatic about everything._

He kept on pondering on all the things he thought negative of Katara.

_Let's see. She always gives that death glare. She thinks she knows everything. She's quick to judge people_. His flashback shows the first time she insulted him. He barely did anything and she snapped at him. Well, so he called her a peasant… it's not his fault he was blunt.

His memory roamed until he saw her with her hands on her hips. He caught his breath, both in the memory and at the present.

She was glaring straight at him, but he didn't move from it. He was caught up with her eyes. Never has he seen such blue eyes. He finally turned away when he felt the blood creep up to his cheeks.

A blush was on his face now, but it wasn't visible in the dim lighting of the park. He looked once again at his wristwatch. His entry wasn't for another 25 or so minutes. What was he going to do until then?

He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back on the bench. When he dropped it to his side he felt a box in his pocket. It's the engagement necklace they bought. Well, technically Toph bought it, because it was her credit card.

He took it out of his pocket slowly. He looked at it for a while, looking at the deep red box it came with. It just bordered on Chinese, but it had a different touch to it.

Opening it gently, he took a peek inside. What he saw wasn't what he expected.

It was the wrong necklace.

* * *

What an evening of tragedies… And what happened to Sokka?

Please review! No, really, PLEASE REVIEW!!

~kalyn19


	22. Chapter 21

Hello people of Fanfiction! [hides behind pillows as readers throw me a bunch of cabbage] I'm so sorry I haven't updated in almost a YEAR... 4th Year life got the better of me... Anywho, here I am now. So... please tell me if you're still reading this. I'd really appreciate it. Who knows, maybe I'd appreciate it so much as to actually update constantly, it being summer and all. Thank you! Enjoy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 21

**Somewhere along Mint Avenue -0:04 before dinner**

As he struck the last chord of the guitar, he fell limply back to his seat. Gasping for air after singing 3 songs in a row, albeit a little too high-pitched, his voice came out in a harsh rasp. "Now can we get to my home? My sister's going to kill me for this."

The old taxi driver grinned widely. "Oh sure, Mr. Sokka! Anything you say!"

And with that, they drove...

...a full 10 meters to the apartment's front steps.

"And here we are!" the taxi driver exclaimed proudly. "Now, uh, Mr. Sokka, you wouldn't mind handing in a little extra," he coughed, "with you being a celebrity and all."

With an irritated scrowl, he reached for his wallet in his back pocket when something fell from it.

A box. It had intricate embroideries on it's cloth covered sides. It was seemingly traditional, thanks to its color. Hot pink.

When it fell from his seat, though, it opened to reveal an object not quite in context with it's holder.

It was a red necklace, with a ruby set in the middle, a tiny flame carved elegantly on its top.

He inhaled sharply.

The taxi driver looked back to see what made his passenger gasp. "Anything wrong, Mr. Sokka?"

He nodded his head in shock, the shook in in disgust. "That shade of red does _not_ work well with hot pink."

**The Outskirts of the Mall -0:12 before dinner**

He ran quickly, clutching the offending article in his right hand. A hundred thoughts raced through his head.

"How could they have gotten this wrong?"

"Why didn't I check it the minute I received it?"

"What if I didn't make it in ti-"

The last thought went unfinished, for just as he reached a distance where he could see the mall, his hopes fell.

There, barely 20 yards away from him, the last light in the mall went off.

It was closed.

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, letting the necklace drop from his grasp. It landed with a dull thud on the concrete ground beneath him. He didn't seem to hear it, though, for at that moment his eyes were searching. They were caught by a dimly lit park bench just 15 steps away from him. Picking up the necklace, he stood up and strode to that place, an idea forming in his head.

An idea he reluctantly had to go with.

**Katara's Apartment: Dining Room -0:15 before dinner**

Katara tapped her fingernails nervously on the dining table. Suki shuffled her thumbs, not wanting to damage her manicure by doing what her best friend was doing. Toph bent her head down, trying to conceal-unsuccessfully- a blush that had crept up her cheeks when Aang's hand brushed hers lightly. Aang was just smiling broadly.

"What's taking him so long?" Katara finally said, voicing out the thoughts that had been troubling her since the clock struck 9 o'clock.

Suki's head snapped up, looking like she was just shaken from thoughts of her own. "Huh?"

"Sokka." Katara clarified. "I meant Sokka."

"Looks like someone's being a little too defensive," Toph said in a sing-song voice. "Chill, Sugar Queen, we get who you're talking about." The pale girl was glad to finally find something to distract her from her runaway thoughts.

Katara scoffed indignantly. "Oh please, Toph. You know exactly what I meant."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

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Oops, how's that for an extremely short chapter? [hides behind pillows as readers throw more cabbages at me] I'm so sorry! It's just... well... you know me and cliffhangers, right? [crowd: boo! lame excuse!] Again I'm sorry! I'll try to update ASAP!

Please review to let me know if you're still out there.

Thanks guys! :-* :D

~kalyn19


	23. Chapter 22

Hello people! I am currently watching The Simpsons.. "Shady and the Vamp" episode... It's kind of weird but oh well. Here's the next chapter! Oh and by the way, I got my laptop back! Yay!

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA. Sadly.

* * *

**Secret Music**

Chapter 22

**Outside Katara's Apartment -0:14 before dinner**

"So, uh, Mr. Sokka..."

"Just keep the meter running." Sokka scowled irritably. After the initial shock of the clash of colours, the meaning set in on his mind and he'd been staring at the necklace for the last ten minutes.

"Whatever you say boss!" the taxi driver replied cheerfully. He just sat back and tried to relax. His passenger was going to pay him for staying still. Well, that and hiding him from view.

Sokka inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. "What am I going to do now?" he buried his face in his hands, rubbing the necklace on his forehead.

Unable to just sit there while someone is in peril, the taxi driver asked "Do about what?"

Sokka sighed, leaning back on the passenger seat. "About this." He held out the necklace in his hand.

He got up from his driver seat and turned to look at the object in his passenger's hand.

"That's a very pretty necklace you got there." It did not escape him that it was an engagement necklace. "Let me guess, you're afraid of commitment?"

"No!" Sokka shouted. He said it so quickly, as if lying (though actually it was trying desperately to point out what he thought was obvious) and this is how the taxi driver interpreted it.

"Oh, sir, look. This is absolutely normal. Every single man goes through it. You're having a great time, living the bachelor life, and then one day, _boom!_ You see this beautifully amazing girl standing right in front of-"

"No, no, no! That is not what I meant!" Sokka blurted after noticing that he was being given a "man-to-groom" talk.

"Oh," the taxi driver said, being taken aback by Sokka's cut off. "Well, what's wrong, then?"

"This is what's wrong!" he cried. He shoved the necklace closer to the man's face in frustration.

The taxi driver looked at it and gasped. Now he really got a look at it.

It was a fine piece of jewelry: an impossibly polished ruby sitting comfortably in the middle of a fine red silk strap. It was, quite simply, breathtaking. "Wow. What could possibly be wrong with this pretty little thing?"

Sokka was about to burst, when he remembered that this guy knew nothing about his engagement and his soon-to-be-fiancé's deman--er, requests. Calming down, he slumped back into his seat. "It's the wrong pretty little thing."

Finally getting it, the taxi driver's eyes went wide and his mouth turned into a puckered-lip "Oh."

**Katara's Apartment -0:15 before dinner.**

"Finally." Katara breathed as she stood up to get the door. As she approached, however, her heartbeat grew faster. Every step was like an accelerator, urging her heart to go overdrive. _Calm down, Katara, _she silently told herself, _you've planned for this_. She was now standing infront of the door. Inhaling deeply, she reached for the doorknob and turned. _This is it. Nothing can possibly go wro-_

"Hello?" she greeted, or rather, asked the person at her doorstep.

Her greeting was met by a rather enthusiastic leap from said person. Coming next, unexpectedly, was an equally enthusiastic hug.

"Hey there, sis-in-law!" a shrill voice echoed through the halls, reaching the dining hall with ease.

It was not, however, easy for the ears on the people in the dining room, especially for Suki. Oh it's not the voice that bothered her, oh no, it was what that voice said.

Silence. And then...

"What?" Katara blurted out. The same word came from the dining room. This one was, undeniably, outraged.

The hug loosened, but the person with the shrill voice still didn't pull away. All Katara could see was a braid of brown hair. A long braid of brown hair.

"Oh it's so nice to finally meet you!" she said, finally letting Katara breathe. "I've been nagging at Sokka to introduce me to you for like ever."

Katara raised an inquiring eyebrow at the weird stranger in front of her. "Uhm..."

The girl with the long brown braid wore a big grin on her face. Her grey eyes were wide with expectation. As if somehow, she expected Katara to know her.

Finally, she gave up. With an awkward shift of weight from one foot to another, she said, "He hasn't mentioned me? At all?"

"I'm afraid not, no," was all that Katara could say. She tried, desperately, to replay a conversation she had with Sokka in her head where her brother actually mentioned her.

"Oh." Suddenly the light from the girl's cheery eyes dissapeared. It was replaced by sadness, albeit brought about by disappointment. But as quickly as it was gone, it came back again, this time with a vengeance. "Well then, SURPRISE!" she shouted as she opened her arms wide in a show-girl kind of fashion, complete with a pearly-white grin.

With all the commotion going on at the door, the people in the dining area decided to see what the holdup was. This group was led by a rather enraged Suki.

They came just in time, for Katara was really, thoroughly, crept out.

Suki came into the living room, dangling earrings and all. She folded her arms over her chest, raised an inquiring eyebrow and asked "Who might you be?"

**A park bench... way past the appointed time for dinner**

He sighed as he finally rested his weight on the wooden park bench. This is going all wrong, he thought in his head... and not just the necklace part.

Recalling what happened the past few hours was kind of a stretch for Zuko. Although it was a little forbidding, it allowed him to assemble his thoughts and get himself together. The problem was, after the last few hours, he didn't know who "himself" was anymore.

He released a frustrated breath, one that blew a spray of fire from his mouth. Was he really going to do this?

Looking around him, at the empty park, at the grudgingly closed mall, he felt as if he had no other choice.

Zuko reached for the cellphone in his pocket and pressed speed dial number 4.

Ring. Click. "Hello?"

"Hey. It's me."

* * *

Ooh, I wonder who that is. Oh well! As promised, here is the next chapter.

Hope you like it. Please review! Thank you for reading!

~kalyn19


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